Novak Djokovic beats Holger Rune to extend two ‘significant’ records
Novak Djokovic acknowledged the ‘significance’ of securing the year-end world number one after his win over Holger Rune at the ATP Finals.
Djokovic headed to Turin knowing he needed just one win to put himself out of the reach of Carlos Alcaraz in the world rankings, and he was able to do that at the first attempt.
Rune certainly made him earn it, though. The young Dane forced two tiebreaks in the opening two sets, but Djokovic was able to come through to win 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3.
It means he wins an unprecedented eighth year-end world number one, which extends a record he already held.
“The significance of this match and clinching the year-end No 1 was added pressure and tension,” Djokovic said.
“You could see what it meant. There was a lot of emotion on the court at the end.
“I won Paris and that put me in a great position coming into Torino, just needing to win one match. Everything from this point is a bonus.”
On the match itself, Djokovic added: “It took everything to win that.
“The first game when he fired shots from the baseline in the first three or four points, I knew it would be a tough match for me. If I wanted to win this match, I knew I had to work really, really hard.
“He was feeling the ball well, he was sharp, very aggressive, coming into the net. I thought he played great.
“I played great at some moments, but overall a win is a win. After a terrible second set tie-break, I played a really solid first set and third.”
What it means for Novak Djokovic
While securing the year-end world number one for an eighth time is incredibly significant in itself, it is only tells part of the story.
It also means that it is now mathematically impossible for Novak Djokovic to lose his spot at the top of the rankings until January 8, 2024.
Therefore, he is now guaranteed to become the first player in world rankings history to hit the 400-week milestone.
In fact, he will reach 406 weeks by the time anyone even has a chance to topple him. Of all of Djokovic’s many records, it might actually be the most impressive.
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