“Coming into this tournament I wanted to get as many matches as possible”, a satisfied Djokovic said after his victory.
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Novak Djokovic already has seven titles this year and 66 overall.
Djokvoic had gone through a long dry spell in the Toronto-based event. Djokovic didn’t drop a set and, despite being the only representative of tennis’ “Big 4” along with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal in the event, still had to beat the game’s hottest player in Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori, one of the principals favoured to become the next first-time grand slam victor.
The top-ranked Serb beat third-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-3, 7-5 after a short rain delay.
True to his word, Djokovic hugged the man next to him as fans embraced each other in the stands.
Djokovic was bolstered by a strong service performance as he won 82 percent of his first serve points and recorded five aces.
This has not been a typical tournament for Djokovic, who has looked sloppy at various points.
One accolade that Djokovic does not have is an Olympic gold medal.
Nishikori held a 5-4 lead but was unable to close out the set.
Even though Nishikori’s backhand wasn’t working, he had some success on serve.
After surrendering two championship points in the final game, Djokovic powered a serve to Nishikori’s forehand that hit the frame and flew up into the sky and out of the court.
Wawrinka finished with 32 unforced errors compared to Nishikori’s 26, while the Japanese player converted on three of nine break-point opportunities and the Swiss one of four. Djokovic’s serve has developed immensely over his career, while Nishikori’s serve tends to get exposed when he comes up against the best players in the world.
“I tried to concentrate first couple games in the second set, because I knew he was a little bit different than first set”.
Playing in his first tournament since a shock defeat to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon third round, Djokovic put his disappointment behind him and lifted the trophy without dropping a set throughout the competition.
Nishikori surrendered a break in the fourth game of the first set and found himself 5-2 down before storming back.
Said Nishikori: “I think he raised his level a lot”.
Djokovic attributes his steadily improving play to an early exit at Wimbledon, with the extra week off giving him time to regroup, fine-tune, and peak over the second half of the summer. “And then suddenly, I think, he didn’t miss”.
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Djokovic attributed the performance to simple rust. Once again, Gael Monfils manages to save point once, but fails to do so in the following game for the second consecutive time, to give the semifinal match to Djokovic after a 40-30 win in the eighth game. In 2016 alone, Djokovic has taken all four meetings against Nishikori dating back to the 2016 Australian Open.
