Novak Djokovic made a title-winning comeback from injury to lift the 2019 Japan Open today. The Serb beat John Millman of Australia in straight sets to remain in the hunt for the race to finish top of the ATP Rankings at the end of the year.
The Serb looked in very good touch throughout the event, casting away any doubts of shoulder problems. He did not drop a single set in the event, beating big names like David Goffin and Lucas Pouille en route to the title.
Ranked number one but having dropped quite a few points due to the shoulder injury shoulder that forced him to retire from his match against Stan Wawrinka in the US Open, he looked to have recovered well. It was an injury issue that had most of his fans well-worried that another long injury lay-off was here again with a drop in form. But the Serbian was quick to dispatch any doubts the fans had ahead of the final stretch of the season.
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Djokovic was dominant and ruthless as he made short work of Millman. After a tight start, Djokovic took control and broke the Millman serve to go 3-1 up, eventually taking the first set 6-3. The Serb was quick to pounce in the second set, breaking Millman, who was leading 40-15. He put in another solid display throughout the second set to win it 6-2.
This marks Djokovic’s 76th career title, and also sees him maintain his No. 1 ranking, with Nadal breathing down his neck. This makes for an interesting end to the season, as both Djokovic and Nadal are looking to end the year as the top ranked man.
On the other hand, Millman had a wonderful week in Japan as he made his second ATP final of his career, having to win six matches including two qualifiers, to reach the final. He was perhaps lucky to see big names like Borna Coric and Benoit Paire lose before they faced him but did well to get past some of the other names to get as far as this.
And what this display from the Aussie will do is to see his ranking soar from world No. 80 to No. 58. While he was solid throughout the week, he was no match for a determined Djokovic, and so he had to settle for the runners-up prize money of AUD 289,000.
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