Reuters
London, Nov 23: Novak Djokovic put the finishing touch to a magnificent season by beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 to win the ATP World Tour Finals here Sunday evening for the fifth time in his career.
The Serbian underlined his complete dominance of men’s tennis with another immaculate display to become the first player in the year-ending tournament’s 46-year history to triumph four times in a row.
Federer brought the tournament to a close in anti-climactic fashion with a double-fault, although not as much as a year ago when he pulled out of the final with back injury.
After a modest celebration, Djokovic walked back to his chair and wrote, “And now for vacation” in Serbian on a camera lens. How he deserves one.
The 28-year-old won three of the year’s four Grand Slams, beating the evergreen Federer in the Wimbledon and US Open finals to take his career haul to 10, and would have celebrated the rarest of ‘calendar year slams’ had it not been for an inspired Stanislas Wawrinka in the French Open final.
Not only that, but he won a record six Masters Series crowns and reached 15 consecutive finals after losing to Ivo Karlovic in the Doha quarterfinals at the start of the year. He ended the year with an 82-6 win loss record – half of those defeats coming against Federer, including the one in the group stage here.
With the stakes raised, though, the 34-year-old Federer made far too many errors Sunday while Djokovic’s defences proved largely impenetrable, but for the odd flash of Swiss magic that had his large red and white fan club chanting their approval.
“I returned more balls back than I did five days ago,” Djokovic told a news conference. “Obviously sitting here with this trophy alongside me, I couldn’t ask for a better finish to the season. This season definitely stands out. I can’t say I expected it, not at all. But I always gave my best, and I’m always asking from myself the most.’
Federer’s chances were fleeting and few. He had the first breakpoint in the second game but fluffed a forehand into the net. In the next game a near-identical forehand found the net to give Djokovic the break and from there the World No. 1 never looked back.
“Margins are small at the very top,” Federer said. “That’s why this year of Novak’s is amazing. Rafa has been there, I’ve been there. We both know how hard it is to back it up. It takes a lot of effort. And I think Djokovic himself will find it hard to match this in 2016.”
