On the eve of the ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic said his main aim in Turin was to get the one match win he needed to secure the year-end No 1 ranking for an eighth time. The natural temptation was to take his words with a pinch of salt.
He likes a record, does Djokovic, and the 36-year-old will be fully aware that a seventh title at the season-ending championships would take him clear of Roger Federer as the most successful player in the history of the elite eight-man event. Why make do with one milestone when two are there for the taking?
Nonetheless, as Djokovic clinched a hard-earned 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (1-7), 6-3 victory over Holger Rune, crouching low with his head bowed towards the court, any scepticism about his chief ambition in northern Italy was banished. It was clear what the win meant to the Serb, who will become the first man in history to hold the top ranking for more than 400 weeks after the tournament.
To put the enormity of that accomplishment into perspective, the only other man to surpass 300 weeks at No 1 is Federer. Third on the all-time list is Pete Sampras, who reigned for a total of 286 weeks and finished the year on the top of the rankings six times, a record that has now been comfortably eclipsed by Djokovic. Increasingly, even the greatest champions are receding in the Serb’s rear-view mirror.
“It’s huge,” Djokovic acknowledged after prevailing, shortly after midnight, in a shade over three hours.
“It means a lot, obviously. I knew coming into the tournament here I needed only one win to clinch the year-end No 1. I really wanted that to happen already tonight. I didn’t want to prolong the situation and complicate this particular goal. I’m really glad that I managed to do that.
“It always has been a huge objective and huge goal of mine to be No 1 in the world. Other than grand slams, that’s what counts the most. To finish off the year as No 1 in the world at this stage of my life and career is something really amazing.
“Anything that happens from this moment onwards in this tournament is a bonus for me.”
If Djokovic is as serene as that statement would suggest – and at this stage, we probably ought to take him at his word – it is likely to spell bad news for the rest of the field. In defeating Rune for the second time in 10 days, the Serb earned his 14th top-10 win of the season, equalling a statistical landmark set by Federer for a player over the age of 35. As he has shown time and again, Djokovic knows better than anyone what it takes to win at this level, and once again he was able to eclipse the hunger and vitality of a significantly younger man.
This was nonetheless a much closer battle than their quarter-final meeting at the Paris Masters, Rune’s quality and determination ensuring Djokovic was unable to capitalise on his opportunities with the same ruthless efficiency he exhibited in Bercy. Having sealed a tight first set with a thunderbolt forehand return, the 24-time grand slam champion not only suffered the rare indignity of losing a “really terrible” second-set tiebreak, but also crushed a pair of rackets underfoot after Rune recovered from a break down early in the decider. In five meetings, the Danish world No 10 has never failed to take a set against Djokovic, for whom this was a victory rooted in resilience and resourcefulness.
“We have had great matches always when we played,” said Rune, who is ending the year strongly after a post-Wimbledon slump. “Unfortunately I couldn’t do it today, but that’s how it is. I have to look forward and take the things out of the match I was happy with, take the things out of the match that I wasn’t happy with, and go back to the practice [court] and try to make them better.”
The sternest challenge to Djokovic in Green Group may yet come from Jannik Sinner, the Italian world No 4, who earlier delighted his adoring public with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. One break in each set was enough for the 22-year-old, who sealed victory with his ninth ace of an evening on which he did not face a single break point. “The crowd support was crazy,” said Sinner, who revelled in an atmosphere that he likened to a football stadium.
“I knew a little bit what to expect before the match because of two years ago when I entered in the court,” said Sinner, who qualified by right this year after filling in for the injured Matteo Berrettini as first alternate in 2021. “But I felt like today was a little bit different.
“My baggage of experience and how I am as a player in [the] two years [since], some things have changed, so the mindset is a little bit different. I think generally the crowd today was really, really nice. They were pushing me, not only when I won the point but also when I lost the point. The ability to handle this kind of thing, not playing only for me but also for the fans and everything, I think it’s a great balance.”
For Tsitsipas, it was a sobering start to an event where he was crowned champion four years ago. The Greek afterwards denied rumours that he has been struggling with injury.
“I’m healthy,” said Tsitsipas. “I’m ready to compete.”With Djokovic awaiting in his final group match on Thursday, ahead of a Tuesday night meeting with Sinner, he will need to be.