ATP Finals: Djokovic wins, sets a record and shows it to the young generation – Sport

Shortly before he secured his last singles title of the season, Novak Djokovic had one of his opponent’s balls checked again. All of the approximately 12,000 spectators were probably convinced that Jannik Sinner’s ball had landed on the line when he hit the ball. The video recording, which was then used for help, showed: There was a tiny space between the landing point and the sideline – out!

Djokovic smiled smugly to himself. Was there anything he couldn’t do that Sunday evening? If he had spontaneously followed his seventh triumph at the ATP Finals in Turin, with which he overtook the Swiss Roger Federer (six titles), with seven flick flacks on the hard court in the Pala Alpitour, he would also have been capable of this feat.

“A 36-year-old has never played tennis at this level,” said former top player Jim Courier

Novak Djokovic dominates men’s tennis like no one before. He has won 24 Grand Slams, three this year alone. So far he has won 40 titles in the Masters category. For the eighth time he finished this season as first in the world rankings. Starting this Monday, he will enter his 400th week as the industry’s best.

Someone on the Internet had fun and calculated how long Djokovic had been number one if you could just count the time he spent in that ranking position in his career. The result was March 2016. At the end of the season tournament for the best eight professionals, he collected his 98th tournament victory – the American Jimmy Connors is still leading with 109, but hardly anyone can doubt that this mark will fall. Djokovic, and this makes his life’s achievement even more special, is no longer the youngest. “A 36-year-old has never played tennis at this level,” said former top player Jim Courier on the TV station Tennis Channel.

“It is undoubtedly one of the best seasons of my life,” confirmed Djokovic after his dominant performance in Turin in which he defeated Sinner 6:3, 6:3. He has to use the plural, the selection is so large now. Even beyond his sport, Djokovic is emerging as one of the greatest phenomena. Which individual athletes have ever been so successful in their discipline, over such a long time, across generations?

There is no end in sight to his work. “As long as I can win against them on the big stage, I’ll keep going,” he said, “why stop when you’re still there?” By “they” he meant all the younger opponents. “Once they start kicking my butt, I’ll think about taking a small or maybe permanent break from professional tennis.”

The challengers are now even achieving one or two successes. In July, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in a memorable final at Wimbledon. In Turin, Sinner also prevailed against the Serb in three sets. But that was in the group stage. Sinner, the nice South Tyrolean with the red fuzzy head, could have even taken Djokovic out of the competition if he had lost to the Dane Holger Rune. But, slightly ailing, he fought his way to a three-set win in front of a roaring crowd of home fans. Djokovic was in the semi-finals – and corrected the old power situation in the final.

His hunger for success comes from various components. There is no one formula that explains this athlete. Even today, Djokovic made it clear in Italy that he was using the circumstances of last year “as fuel for this year”. At that time he missed several tournaments, such as the Australian Open and the US Open, because he was not allowed to enter the country due to his status as someone who had not been vaccinated against Corona. He is also a family man, his children Stefan and Tara motivate him, as he emphasized: “I always wanted to perform in front of them as soon as they reached the age where they know what’s going on. I think that’s the age now . They are both aware of what is happening and I am so grateful to be a father to these two wonderful angels.” In Turin he hugged both of them immediately after the match point.

Open detailed view

Just look, don’t touch! Jannik Sinner (right) admires the trophy that Novak Djokovic received for his seventh tournament victory at the ATP Finals.

(Foto: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Djokovic also seems to enjoy duels with the younger generation. From the sounds of him, he loves showing them the limits. “When they play against me, they should feel that they have to give me the best tennis to win against me,” he revealed. “That’s undoubtedly what I want to convey to my opponents because it helps mentally going into the game.” And Djokovic, the eternal strategist and mentalist, is more aware of his experience than ever. “I think the more I win on the biggest stage, the more that kind of aura grows, and I’m certainly happy about it. Of course it won’t win you the game, but it might give you that little percentage, that little advantage. “

In fact, there are nuances that make him seem almost invincible, especially in finals. Not only is his ambition and professionalism outstanding, he also masters the game itself like no other. So many act excellently, but while professionals like the long-haired Alexander Zverev and Andrej Rublyov sometimes give the impression that they rely on their high quality of play over and over again, regardless of the opponent, Djokovic looks for details that his opponents like could hurt.

Others may regularly serve at 210 km/h – Djokovic serves more precisely, more disgustingly, because he usually uses a slight cut. In the first set in the final against Sinner, Djokovic won 20 of 22 service points. His service is perhaps his most underrated stroke. After all, everyone rightly praises his return when his opponent serves. With these two trump cards alone he immediately puts the other one under pressure. Often enough, the opponents can’t get into the rally either with Djokovic’s service or with his return, they are immediately pushed onto the defensive, get stressed and make the mistake, if Djokovic hasn’t already hit the ball out of their reach with his low-error topspin shots from the ball Baseline. He stands there like a ball machine.

He once scored 14 points in a row against Sinner. The Carota Boys, a fan group that supports Sinner and wears carrot costumes, also fell silent. “When you let up a little bit against the best player in the world, it looks like it makes a big difference,” the long-suffering Sinner said later.

Djokovic also immediately drew the right conclusions from the defeat in the group phase. In the second match against Sinner, in the final, he played tactically differently, more offensively, more pressing, he said. Just like in the semifinals, when he dismantled Alcaraz 6:3, 6:2. Yes, the master showed it to the students, and the question now is what else Djokovic can achieve in this form. This week he is helping Serbia at the Davis Cup finals week in Malaga. And 2024? “Well, you can win four Slams and Olympic gold,” Djokovic said. “Let’s see.” His record journey will continue, whatever.