Novak Djokovic capped off the 2023 tennis season with his sixth title at the ATP Finals after defeating Casper Ruud in the final of the tournament on Sunday, November 20.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner won 7-5, 6-3 to end the year on a high after having earlier also clinched his seventh Wimbledon title.
In a match lasting an hour and 33 minutes at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, Djokovic lived up to his favourites billing thanks to his great returning which trumped Ruud’s power-packed hitting. Djokovic earned himself five break-points in the encounter while Ruud was unable to get himself even one.
And in a stern warning to his rivals, Djokovic said he still had the appetite to win more titles at the highest level as this tournament victory exhibited.
Speaking to the media at the end of the match, Djokovic said:
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that what I hold in my mind is a huge hunger still to win trophies. Make history of this sport, compete on the highest level all around the world, bring good emotions to sports fans, tennis fans. That’s what drives me a lot.”
Djokovic, who had also won the Rome Masters, Tel Aviv Open and Astana Open titles now joins Roger Federer as the only other player to have won six year-ending tournament wins.
With this victory, Djokovic made it 18 wins from his past 19 matches with his sole loss coming to Holger Rune in the final of the Paris Masters.
Despite the loss, Ruud finishes the season on a high as well, ending the year ranked third in the world and with performances such as this one in Turin and the French Open and US Open to boot. He was a finalist at both those Grand Slams, going down to Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz respectively.
Players, other than those appearing at the Davis Cup Finals, will take a break before heading into the 2023 season with a possible appearance at the newly-formed United Cup.