Novak Djokovic has proven to be one of the legends of tennis after bouncing back to win the ATP final which began in Turin last week.
Each of the contenders was asked by the tour’s social media staff to give a bold prediction for the week ahead, and Djokovic said:
“If I don’t want to be humble and [to] be honest, I’m winning the tournament,” he said, a smile spreading across his face. “If I want to be humble, I’m also winning the tournament.”
At the Australian Open, Djokovic equaled Rafael Nadal’s men’s grand slam record of 22 majors and extended his record in Melbourne to 10 titles.
Djokovic has also extended countless outlandish records: 40 Masters 1000 titles, 400 weeks at No. 1, eight different years as the year-ending No. 1 and he has now won every major three times.
Novak’s advancement in the Nitto ATP Finals was out of his hands when Holger Rune played Jannik Sinner in the final Green Group match.
If Rune had won, Djokovic would have been eliminated.
When Sinner won that match in three sets, Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, had full confidence in his charge.
“I have to thank Jannik a little bit he gave us a little help and pushed for him to be in the semi-finals. But I knew as soon as he got into the semi-final, he’s going to win the tournament,” Ivanisevic said.
“The mentality changed. The new Novak Djokovic arrived on the court on Saturday. When the real Novak Djokovic arrives on the court, then [in that] moment [there] there is nobody that can play with him.”
Djokovic went 2-1 in round-robin play and needed three sets in all three of his matches. But he was facing World No. 1 and the player who defeated him at Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
“I can see in his eyes, in his approach when he comes to the small locker room, when he comes to the practice court. Warm-up was different. The warm-up was positive. When he entered the court against Alcaraz the first time this week, he was from the first point pumping himself [up], pumping his fist. He was very positive in a way,” Ivanisevic said.
He did not lose serve against Alcaraz or Sinner, saving all six break points he faced against them combined.
