Djokovic retains ATP Finals title
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 12, 2013
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Sealed with a kiss: Djokovic shows his latest trophy some affection. |
Novak Djokovic retained his ATP World Tour Finals title with a convincing win over world number one Rafael Nadal on Monday night.
The defending champion made quick work of top-ranked Nadal 6-3, 6-4 at the O2 Arena in London, extending his winning streak to 22 matches and claiming the elite season-ending title for the third time.
"This was the best possible ending to the ATP season," said Djokovic, who won his seventh title of the year. "I really feel that now [after the fall run] my season was really good. This is definitely a great confidence boost for the start of next season."
Djokovic took an impressive start, hitting powerful groundstrokes to keep Nadal well behind his baseline while limiting his own mistakes.
At 0-3, Nadal was battling to keep the set competitive. An unexpected sliced backhand from Nadal caught the Serb off guard and drew an error that allowed the top seed back into the set, but Djokovic gathered himself to hold for 4-3 and then launched another assault.
After a stunning exchange, the Serb broke for a 5-3 edge following a series of volleys at the net. Again he let out a huge roar, this time of delight, and then stepped up to serve out the set, sealing it with an ace.
Djokovic raised his game further in the second set, pinpointing his shots on the lines after breaking in the third game of the second set.
He had two more break points for a 5-2 advantage but Nadal came up with some big serves to escape for the time being.
Djokovic created his first match point opportunity in the ninth game, when Nadal lunged too far for a backhand down the line. The Spaniard saved it at 30/40.
But Djokovic was not to be denied his seventh trophy of the year. Despite falling from 30/0 to 30/30, the World No. 2 held his nerve and clinched his third match point chance when Nadal hit a forehand wide.
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