We had waited 12 months for this match.
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On Sunday, he capped it all and concluded a career year that eclipsed even his sublime 2011 with a demolition of Swiss ace Roger Federer in the summit clash ATP World Tour Finals.
The 28-year-old has stomped through the season to leave his rivals trailing in his wake – securing the year-end world No. 1 ranking weeks before the London finale. The Serbian won 6-3, 6-4 in just 1 hour, 20 minutes. He eased to victory in warm up events in Monte Carlo & Rome and overcame nine-time champion Rafael Nadal with relative ease in the quarterfinal. Could he possibly snatch his year from what, for him, had to be a black hole of frustration? Federer did not hit an ace until the 10th game.
With Britain’s Davis Cup final edging closer, there had been suggestions that Murray would not push his body to the limit in London.
And, of course, there was Federer.
The men’s tennis tour came to a close on Sunday with Novak Djokovic doing what he’s been doing all year – winning.
“It’s hard to do”, Federer said in his postmatch press conference. “When he’s on, it’s hard to play him”, said the world number one.
“Usually I go into a season with two or three really big goals, then maybe four or five other ones that are really important to you”.
“You don’t win a break point, he does, or vice versa – it changes the whole outcome of the match”.
“Margins are small at the very top”, Federer said.
“It’s not the first good year for Novak”. Rafa has been there.
Djokovic did indeed back it up in 2015.
“I couldn’t ask for a better finish of the season, ” Djokovic said. I’ll work on that as well. “It allows me to have the longevity”.
Looking through history, Federer’s incredible 2006 saw him drop only five from 97 games. It proved to be no idle threat, though.
Djokovic has now levelled his head-to-head record with Federer for the first time in his career, at 22-22. And yet, had it not been for Djokovic, he could have had an historic year. Djokovic was halted in a final only once – at Cincinnati by Murray.
“I did. I was returning more shots”. His serve was a particularly valuable weapon. It was anything but.
At 4-5 down, Federer found himself under seige again and crumbled with a double fault on match point giving Djokovic one more memorable moment in his golden year. Djokovic had played more than 24 hours before the final, Federer cut back on his media obligations in an attempt to get away from the O2 by 11pm.
Notably, this is not the first time that Djokovic has run a ring around all his opponents. He was constantly in Djokovic’s face. Few players garner the scale of support afforded Federer-but Djokovic had handled a partisan Federer crowd many times before.
Nole dominates quietly with the assurance of a man at the absolute peak of his powers.
So where does Djokovic go from here?
He ends the year with 11 titles including three Grand Slams, taking his total to 10 majors. He could match Nadal’s 14 Grand Slam titles in the blink of an eye – especially if Nadal fails to rally and become the force he once was at Roland Garros. Djokovic’s continued rise has been phenomenal, to say the least.
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With Nadal’s golden age most likely coming to an end as his body slows with the ravages of his physical approach, the elastic Djokovic, whose movement around a tennis court quite frequently defies belief, has emerged as the pre-eminent performer of this generation.
