There is a moment in the sci-fi action movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day when Sarah Connor, forewarned by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s deadpan cyborg of mankind’s impending destruction, determines to destroy a factory containing the technology that leads to Armageddon.
“We were in uncharted territory now,” she intones in a voiceover, “making up history as we went along.”
Much the same may be said of Novak Djokovic, a man whose limb-contorting defensive play has often been likened to the film’s villainous T-1000 cyborg, a shape-shifting android capable of dissolving into liquid metal before reconstituting itself. For Djokovic, there is nothing novel in the idea of making up history on the hoof. On the contrary, it is part of his routine – one he hopes to continue at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Where Djokovic goes, records invariably follow. At last year’s ATP Finals, the Serbian strongman equalled Roger Federer’s landmark haul of six titles, becoming the oldest champion in the event’s history. Should he prevail again this time, Djokovic will not only pull clear of the retired Swiss to claim the record outright, but also put the gloss on an unprecedented eighth year-end No 1 ranking, a distinction that will be guaranteed if he overcomes Holger Rune in his opener on Sunday night. That victory would in turn ensure that the 36-year-old goes on to become the first man ever to hold the top ranking for more than 400 weeks.
Nor does it end there. Should Djokovic qualify for next year’s finals, he would equal another milestone, matching Federer’s record of 17 appearances at the season-ending championships. By that time, he may well have added another notch or four to his tally of grand slam titles, which currently stands level with Margaret Court at 24, and expanded his record total of 40 Masters 1000 titles, the most recent of which came last week in Paris.
Even after a season in which he fell just one win short of a calendar grand slam for the second time in three years, Djokovic is determined to keep cutting a swathe through the record books. What drives his relentless ambition?
“I love competing, I love the sport,” said the 36-year-old. “That’s my greatest motivation really, because I’ve made a lot of records, I’ve broken a lot of records and it’s great. Even if I leave professional tennis now and reflect on everything I’ve done, I can be extremely satisfied.
“So I don’t have pressure to keep on competing, but I still have desire and still have the level. I’m playing at a very high level, so records are there obviously as a huge inspiration as well, no doubt, and history of the sport. I still want to create my own history and history of tennis and see how far I can go.”
With milestones falling like dominoes, can anyone stop the world No 1 in Turin? Rune, the Danish world No 10, has won two of his four meetings with Djokovic and pushed the top seed to a decider in Paris last week. Yet, for all the encouraging signs of resurgence from the 20-year-old following the recruitment of Boris Becker as his coach, it remains to be seen whether a maiden appearance at the season finale will bring a return to the form that carried him to the French Open and Wimbledon quarter-finals. The comedown from those summer highs was steep, Rune suffering seven defeats in eight matches before he finally stopped the rot with a semi-final run in Basel last month. Qualification for Turin ultimately became an end in its own right for the Dane and, after edging out Hubert Hurkacz by just 215 points in the race for eighth spot, it is asking a lot to regroup and go again at this late stage in the season.
“It’s been a big goal for me,” said Rune of clinching his place in Turin. “Being in the season and in the moment, you don’t think so much about it, but as we got closer and the race was very close for me with other players, it was a goal that I really wanted to achieve. I wanted it badly and I got it, so I’m very happy and satisfied with that.”
Green Group is completed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose debut victory in London four years ago remains his most notable title to date, and Jannik Sinner, the home favourite, who has qualified by right for the first time after replacing his injured compatriot Matteo Berrettini with two group matches remaining in 2021. Sinner has yet to register a win against Djokovic, while Tsitsipas has beaten the Serb just twice in 13 matches. The pair will open proceedings on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m coming in with a very positive mindset here,” said Sinner, who reached a first grand slam semi-final this summer at Wimbledon and is up to a career-high ranking of fourth after title wins in Beijing and Vienna last month.
“I’ve had a great year. The last part of the season I played really well, especially the indoor tournaments, and I’m happy to be here. I will try to take a lot of positive energy with the crowd and everything. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I also have to enjoy this moment. I know what I’m capable of, obviously.”
Few have a better insight those capabilities than Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish second seed and Red Group favourite, who may be quietly relieved to find himself at arm’s length from a player who has won on four of the seven occasions they have met.
For all the brilliance of a season that has brought six titles, including a first Wimbledon crown, Alcaraz has ample food for thought ahead of his maiden appearance at an event he missed last season with an abdominal tear. The 20-year-old’s hopes of challenging Djokovic for the year-end No 1 ranking were dashed last month by a combination of the back and foot injuries that forced him to withdraw from Basel, and a shock early exit to Roman Safiullin, a Russian ranked 39 in the world, at the Paris Masters. As ever, Alcaraz has been quick to find a silver lining.
“The defeat in Paris, which was quite painful, made me realise that I have to work harder,” said the Spaniard, who has not won a tournament since Wimbledon. “That’s what I’ve done. You always have to look for the positive in things. I’ve had several days to train to come here in optimum form. I’ve worked hard, on both fitness and tennis. I feel really good.”
Alcaraz will need to translate those good feelings into good tennis from the get-go if he is to build the momentum he will need to stop Djokovic. He has already contested a pair of epic finals against the Serb this year, first at Wimbledon and then in Cincinnati, and few would say no to a fifth instalment of a rivalry that currently stands all square at two apiece.
First, though, Alcaraz will need to find a way past two former champions in Daniil Medvedev, his US Open conqueror, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, whom he will face in his opening match on Monday. Also lying in wait is Andrey Rublev, the Russian world No 5, with whom Alcaraz has never previously crossed swords. Navigating a path out of the group will be far from easy, but the Murcian insists he is ready.
“I’m expecting the Carlos from early this year, despite the results I’ve had in recent tournaments,” said the Spaniard.
Alcaraz is certainly likely to need that version of himself against Medvedev, who will be eager to erase the memory of last year, when he lost each of his three group matches in a final-set tiebreak. The smart money suggests the Russian world No 3 will succeed: few know the course and distance better than Medvedev, who was crowned champion in 2020 and lost the following year’s final to Zverev. Like Alcaraz, the 27-year-old promises to be ready.
“From the first match, you play against a top 10 player, which never happens on tour other than here,” said Medvedev. “You have to play your best from the first match if you want to try to win the whole thing.”
Nobody does that quite like Djokovic, however, and Alcaraz, Sinner and company will be all too aware that the six-time champion remains the man to beat.