Djokovic, eighth in the tennis world ranking, triumphed over Ruud, fourth in the hierarchy, in two ‘sets’ 7-5 and 6-2 in the final of the tournament that brought together the eight best tennis players in the world, in an hour and 30 minutes .
The Serbian, who already won the masters in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, succeeded Germany’s Alexander Zverev and equaled Federer, who ended his career this year and held the record of triumphs, with victories in 2003 , 2004 , 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011.
At the age of 23 and on his second appearance, Ruud played in his first final of the season-ending tournament, against Djokovic, aged 35, who played in the deciding game for the eighth time and became the oldest ever winner.
Ruud, a finalist at Roland Garros and the US Open, went on without winning a set against Djokovic, as had happened in the last three matches, without preventing the Serb from returning to triumph in the competition, seven years after the last victory in 2015 in London.
In the first set, Djokovic had three break points, two in the opponent’s first serve, but he only broke them to close the Partial, at 7-5.
Then he again countered Ruud’s serve to make it 3-1 and seal the victory 6-3, quietly, with an ace, and, like in 2012, 2013 and 2014, ended the 2022 edition without any defeat of the ATP Finals, which was not in the presence of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, due to an injury.
“These kind of games are decided by a small margin, but we both served well. I managed to run him, tried to be aggressive and it worked. I had a few mistakes, I have to be 100% concentrated, but I was a bit nervous,” the Serb acknowledged.
This was Djokovic’s second major title of the year, after winning Wimbledon, in a year marked by his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus causing covid-19 that kept him away from the Australian Open and the US Open .
“Seven years have passed, it’s a long time, but at the same time, because so much time has passed, this victory is sweeter,” said Djokovic, who admitted his fear of the holidays, after “a strange season”, due to his doubts in “know every week whether he played or not”.
In pairs, the American Rajeev Ram and the Briton Joe Salisbury, finalists in 2021, defeated the Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the decisive meeting 7-6 (7-4) and 6-4, in an hour and 27 minutes,
Source: DN
