An anxious wait came to an end for the most successful men’s player in the history of tennis as Novak Djokovic joined Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) as the only men in the Open Era to complete a century of titles. The Serbian superstar defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), coming back from a set down first, and then a break down in the third.
It’s been somewhat of a struggle for Djokovic to get to the landmark as he has struggled in the recent past in tournament play. He was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai final last year and when he was widely predicted to end the wait, young gun Jakub Mensik had other ideas in Miami in March. It was a barren 2024 for Djokovic by his high standards, but he did end up winning a title he coveted, when he clinched the Olympics gold for Serbia at Paris 2024 and broke down in tears.
His most successful years on tour so far have been 2011, when he won 10 titles (a year when he made an incredible unbeaten start. winning the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami), and 2015, when he won 11. His first title came all the way back in July in Amersfoort in 2006.
In the semifinal, he recovered from a second-set blip to beat British qualifier Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-7(6) 6-1 on Friday. Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, unleashed 11 aces and 34 winners in a match against Norrie lasting two hours and 15 minutes. After two tightly-fought sets, Djokovic was ruthless in the decider as he raced into a 3-0 lead before former world number eight Norrie got on the board. Djokovic won the next three games, however, to reach his 143rd ATP Final.
Victory in Saturday’s final against Polish sixth seed Hurkacz comes as a timely boost to the record 24-time Grand Slam champion’s preparations for the French Open starting on Sunday. Coming into the final on Saturday, Djokovic held commanding 7-0 career win-loss record over Hurkacz but had to work hard to reach the elusive century mark as Hurkacz held a break early in the third set..
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
