Novak Djokovic wins record seventh ATP Finals title after defeating Jannik Sinner to cap stunning year for world No. 1
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — Novak Djokovic won an outright record seventh title at the ATP Finals on Sunday, defeating Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 in Turin, Italy.
The victory capped off a stunning year for Djokovic, adding to the grand slam titles he won at the Australian, French and US Opens.
The 36-year-old now begins a record-extending 400th week at the top of the world rankings.
“Playing Sinner tonight in front of his home crowd and the way I finished the tournament and finished the season is amazing,” Djokovic told reporters. “I’m very, very proud of the performance.”
World No. 4 Sinner had beaten Djokovic earlier in the tournament but the Serbian star was comfortably the better player in Sunday’s final.
The 36-year-old Djokovic got the opening break of the match when Sinner pulled a forehand wide and proceeded to win the first set in clinical fashion, dropping just two points on his own serve.
Djokovic’s standard was as relentless and impressive at the start of the second set, breaking Sinner to love in the first game and narrowly missing out on another break when he clipped the top of the net with a passing shot.
It mattered little in the grand scheme of the match, though Sinner battled hard until the end.
Ultimately, it was a double fault that handed Djokovic the win in an hour and 43 minutes as the Serbian moved past Roger Federer with a record seventh victory in the season-ending tournament.
His dominance against Sinner was built on a superb serving performance, hitting 13 aces and winning 91% of his first-serve points.
Now, the 24-time grand slam champion can begin to turn his attentions to next year’s lofty goals.
“You can win four slams and Olympic gold, let’s see,” Djokovic told reporters. “I have always the highest ambitions and goals, that’s not going to be different for the next year, that’s for sure.
“The drive that I have is still there, my body has been serving me well, listening to me well. I have a great team of people around me. Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in the sport, is still present. It still inspires me to keep going.”
The Paris Olympics, which will follow the French Open and Wimbledon, make for a congested summer scheduled next year, and Djokovic said that he has no plans to retire while he is still beating the best young players in the game: Sinner, Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, and Danish star Holger Rune.
“As long as I am able to win against them on the big stage, I’ll still keep going because why stop if you’re still winning the biggest titles?” he said.
“Once they start to kick my butt then I will consider probably having a little break or maybe a permanent break from professional tennis.”
At the Australian Open in January, a tournament he has won on 10 previous occasions, Djokovic will be attempting to add to his men’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles
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