Novak Djokovic breaks Roger Federer's ATP Finals record, downs Jannik Sinner to win 7th title
Novak Djokovic won a record seventh ATP Finals title after scoring a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jannik Sinner in the title clash.
The Serb entered the year-end championship in Turin, Italy, having the same number of titles as Roger Federer. However, his win over Sinner saw him surpass the Swiss and become the sole holder of the record for the most tournament wins at the ATP Finals.
The World No. 1 had previously lost to the Italian when they faced one another in the round-robin stage in Turin but the tables turned when the two locked horns in the final.
Djokovic made the first service break of the match in the fourth game and this was enough to fetch him the first set 6-3. The Serb's service performance was top-notch, winning 20 out of 22 points with seven aces to his name.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner had a terrific start to the second set as he broke in the very first game. He had three break points in the third game but Sinner managed to save them.
The Italian showed some resistance and had two break points in the sixth game. However, Djokovic saved them and held his serve to lead 4-2. The following game dragged on for almost 16 minutes and Sinner saved two break points to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
The home favorite tried hard to stage a fightback but Djokovic was not to be denied as he won the next two games to register a 6-3, 6-3 victory and clinch the ATP Finals title.
The Serb thus won a record seventh title at the year-end championship and a 98th career singles title, which puts him 11 behind first-placed Jimmy Connors in the list of most tournament wins by a male player in the Open Era.
Novak Djokovic ends 2023 season with 7 titles to his name
Novak Djokovic's triumph at the ATP Finals capped off an extraordinary 2023 season that saw him win seven titles.
The Serb reached the final of all four Grand Slam tournaments and triumphed in each of them except Wimbledon. He won all of his title clashes in straight sets, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open, Casper Ruud at the French Open and Daniil Medvedev at the US Open.
He also won two Masters 1000 titles at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati and the Paris Masters, beating Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov in the finals, respectively. The Serb also won the Adelaide International 1, defeating Sebastian Korda in the final where he saved a championship point.