"Novak Djokovic is the best tennis player on the planet" - Patrick McEnroe hails the Serb after reaching the final at the ATP Finals 2022
Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic secured his spot in the final of the 2022 ATP Finals after defeating Taylor Fritz in two tie-break sets on Saturday.
The 21-time Major champion showed his class and experience in key moments to reach his eighth final at the season-ending tournament, where he will square off against Casper Ruud on Sunday.
Former American player Patrick McEnroe took to Twitter after the match to shower praise on the Serb, calling him the best player in the world.
"Right now @DjokerNole is the best tennis player on the planet. Period. End of story," tweeted McEnroe.
Right now @DjokerNole is the best tennis player on the planet.
Period. End of story
Despite a hugely successful season, which includes four titles so far, Djokovic is ranked No. 5 in the live ATP Rankings as a result of missing a number of tournaments due to his unvaccinated status.
"I'm very happy to be able to compete for another big trophy" - Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz in straight sets, 7-6(5), 7-6(6), to reach the final in Turin. In his post-match press conference, the Serb reflected on his performances this week and expressed joy at being able to compete for "one of the biggest" titles in tennis.
"Well, I was looking forward to being in this position. I'm very happy to be able to compete for another big trophy, one of the biggest ones that we have in our sport. So far a great week for me. Four out of four wins. Of course, the last match of the season, I'm going to give it all. I'm going to obviously try my best," said the Serb.
The Serb stated that he was happy to be able to bounce back after a "very long battle" against Medvedev on Friday and produce a solid performance against Fritz to reach the final, adding that such performances defined his career.
"I like the fact that I was able to win against Medvedev after a very long battle, then come back the next day after not too much time for recovery, be able to win another tight match against Fritz in two sets," he said. "That's something that has in a way defined my career over the years. I've had similar situations where I was able to bounce back and really make some big wins."
"I would love to, of course, win the trophy, but I'm not going to be the only player who is going to want that on the court. Hopefully, I'll be able to play at the level that I've played most of the matches this week and get a trophy," he added.