He was worth it, holding his nerve under intense pressure as the Swiss strove against tiredness to make a fight of it. The world No1, ridiculously ahead of the field in the rankings, picked up 1,300 points he probably did not need in winning 6-3, 6-4 in 80 minutes and is unchallenged on any surface against any opponent as the best player in the world.
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Fans came out to London’s O2 Arena expecting a classic as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer faced off for the second time this week at the ATP World Tour Finals. “When somebody’s doing like this, just the only thing I can do is congratulate him and just wish not the best of luck for the next year!”
Three of Djokovic’s defeats this year were at the hands of Federer, who beat him in the finals in Dubai and Cincinnati and in the round-robin stage here last week, but on this occasion the 34-year-old Swiss was ground down by the Serb’s relentless excellence.
“Give me some time to recharge my batteries and then I’ll think about next season”. He was barred from participating in the French Open that year because of his commitment to play World Team Tennis resulting in one of the biggest “ifs” in tennis history – would Connors have won the calendar year Slam that year had he been allowed to play at Roland Garros (Bjorn Borg went on to win his first of six French titles that year)?
Djokovic won a total of 11 ATP titles in 2015 alone, including 3 Grand Slam championships.
Only Federer, with six Tour Finals crowns, has won the tournament more times.
Thirty-seven of their past 38 matches have been either semis (21) or finals (16) – the lone exception is their opening Group B clash on Day 2 of the 2013 World Tour Finals.
This was never going to be a repeat of their match on Tuesday when Federer pretty much caught Djokovic cold. I had to change something and I did.
“I am enjoying every moment on the court, I cherish every moment after dreaming of it as a kid”, he said.
· In 2006, Federer was in full-flight and the label “best player of all time” was already the journalistically accepted moniker for Federer.
Straddling the baseline to take the ball early, Federer created break-point chances in two of Djokovic’s first three service games.
Djokovic calmly, nearly methodically, crushed an aggressive, sometimes brilliant Federer, who was desperate for an 11th-hour effort to end his year on a high note.
“I’m convinced with this dedication to the sport, I can achieve more”. I know I have to be on top in order to win against him.
Federer raced away in the second set, earning himself a match point with a tremendous backhand.
“Obviously we have to be honest that there is more importance to Grand Slams and Olympic Games, maybe this event, comparing to some others”. I f I played the match again, that is what I would try to do different. I played some good tennis, even in the final. “I don’t want to say it’s all about movement, but movement bails you out of a lot of tough situations”.
But while his defence is the most gasp-inducing aspect of his game, it’s Djokovic’s offence which is most improved.
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“This week was great again, and it’s been a fantastic year all around. I tried my best, I thought I played some great tennis all week and in the final, but Novak deserves the win today like so many times this year”.
