Novak Djokovic demolished the year-end title dream of Jannik Sinner, defeating the Italian 6-3, 6-3 to win a record-setting seventh title at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
The Turin triumph in just under an hour and three-quarters added to the Serb’s legend after winning year-end trophies over three decades in three cities starting with Shanghai in 2008.
Djokovic, who will carry onto the Davis Cup Finals next week in Spain, showed that at age 36 he is still the best in the sport.
He backed up his Saturday semi-final defeat of world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz with the win over Sinner, who defeated him here five days ago in a group match.
“This is a very special moment, one of the best season’s I’ve had in my life,” said the winner of three Grand Slam titles who finished the year as No. 1 for an eighth time.
“It was great to win against the home hero, who has been playing amazing tennis this week. It’s phenomenal.”
Sinner had few chances in the opening set as his opponent dominated, losing just two points on serve.
The 22-year-old Italian who had not lost a match all week (4-0) attempted a fight back in the second set, saving three break points for a 2-1 lead on serve.
The 16-minutes seventh game required eight deuces, with Sinner saving two break points and finishing with an ace to hold, 3-4.
But the veteran Serb with 24 Grand Slam titles had the final word, holding for 5-3 and taking the win a game later as Sinner double-faulted on a Djokovic match point off a net cord.
“I’m proud of my performances against Alcaraz and Sinner,” the winner said. “The way they were playing I had to step it up.
“I had to win the matches – not wait for them to hand me a victory. I played differently today than I did in the group stage against Jannik.
Djokovic’s win over Sinner after losing to the Italian on Tuesday duplicated a similar turnaround he completed at the season wrapup in 2015 over Roger Federer.
Main photo:- Novak Djokovic celebrates with his 7th Masters Trophy – by Chryslene Caillaud for International Sports Fotos Ltd
