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Djokovic on the way of breaking every record without hesitation

The aura of Novak Djokovic's invincibility does not stop growing and scares opponents on the Tour.

Source: Milan Tomic Monday, November 20, 2023 | 09:00

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Foto: Profimedia

Maybe it doesn't win the matches, but it gives Serbian tennis player a slight initial advantage in those duels.

Let's recall the semi-finals of Roland Garros and the meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, who at one point was seized by convulsions on a psychological basis, as he himself admitted.

The Spaniard did not have such problems in the same phase of the Final Masters, but there was a huge one that he could not overcome - Novak Djokovic's game.

He took only five games in the fifth match between them, while Jannik Sinner was only slightly better in the final - 6:3, 6:3, the result read.

The big pressure obviously took its toll on the world's fourth-ranked player to do something in front of a huge audience in his home country.

Novak played almost flawlessly, so much so that in the first seven games on his serve, he lost only two points. Everything went well, he was more stable in the exchanges from the baseline - not so convincing in terms of winners and unforced errors, but solid enough to press at the right moment and win the point. The Italian did not seem as comfortable on the court as was the case five days ago in the group stage, when he celebrated after the tie-break of the third set, in one of the best matches of the season.

The season, which is certainly one of the most successful when it comes to Novak - crowned with seven titles.

Only six losses, a new Grand Slam record (24), breaking the mark of 400 weeks at the top of the ATP list, 55-6 win-loss ratio.

"The win against Alcaraz and the match with Sinner are probably my best two matches of the season against two players who are in fantastic form, we all know the quality of those two. I beat Jannik in front of his fans. Thanks to Jannik for taking me to the semi-finals, when I raised my level of play. I started aggressively from the start in the final, unlike the match in the group, that duel helped me prepare better for all that. I analyzed the match and saw what I could have done better", Djokovic said.

Obviously, there was a lot of pressure on the boy from Tyrol, who was expected to defeat Djokovic twice in a short period of time. It doesn't quite work that way. Doubt has crept in on Jannik, and when that happens to any other player, the epilogue is in sight.

"Tactically he played differently than on Tuesday, Jannik had a lot of pressure and Djokovic took advantage of that. If you have any doubts about yourself against Novak, then it's not good for you. It's like when you face a lion, it will devour you in two seconds", Goran Ivanišević said.

Sinner seemed much more confident and decisive in the match of the Green Group, from which he sent Novak to the semi-finals, instead of Rune, whom he defeated and eliminated.

"Everyone" knew that the epilogue simply could not be different - Djokovic will win the tournament and in the final, he will beat Sinner. "First I have to thank Jannik a little, because he helped Novak reach the semi-finals. As soon as he reached the semi-finals, I knew he was going to win the tournament. The mentality has changed, the new Djokovic has arrived. When the real Novak comes, then no one can play with him," Ivanišević said.

During the final match, Sinner seemed at times as if his physical strength had decreased a little, which, combined with the pressure, was fatal for him. Novak thus managed to win the ATP Finals for the second time in his career, by losing in the group stage to the player whom he later defeated in the match for the trophy.

He did it in 2015 against Roger Federer, whom he had just overtaken in the number of titles at this tournament.

After each such so-called major titles, the list dominated by three names - Djokovic, Nadal and Federer - is being updated.

This was the 98th title for the Serbian tennis player, a total of 71 from the "big" edition, leaving Rafa with 59 and Roger with 54 trophies. Ivanišević would say that the sky is the limit for Novak, which is true. However, there are some plans. Djokovic and his team will make a plan for 2024, during which he will continue to chase records that have not been broken. Jimmy Connors' absolute record in the number of career trophies (109) remains distant for now, but Federer's (103) is within reach already in the next season.

"The number of tournaments, 109, I'm going for it, I'm going for everything," Novak was clear, noting that the Olympic Games next season are his priority, along with the inevitable Grand Slams.