Novak Djokovic ended his rollercoaster season in the best way possible by defeating Casper Ruud to clinch the ATP Finals title and collect the biggest winner's cheque in tennis history on Sunday night.
The 35-year-old Serb beat his Norwegian opponent 7-5, 6-3 for his fifth title of the year, despite missing large parts of the season over Covid-19-related entry rules. Having won the season-ending tournament in Turin unbeaten, Djokovic earned $4,740,300.
Djokovic sealed victory in style with his ninth ace to win the title for the first time since 2015 in front of a rapturous crowd. The victory also pulled him level with Roger Federer on a record-equalling six ATP Finals titles.
"Got to stay focused the entire match, every single point, the momentum can switch to the other side really quickly," Djokovic said.
"The fact that I waited seven years makes this victory even sweeter.
The 23-year-old Ruud has enjoyed the best season of his career and battled toe-to-toe with the 21-time major winner early on but produced two clumsy errors to hand Djokovic the break at the end of the first set.
Djokovic put his foot on the accelerator from there on, harnessing his mighty forehand to break Ruud in the fourth game of the second set.
The Norwegian threw everything he had at Djokovic in a 36-shot penultimate rally but the Wimbledon champion was simply too sharp, outlasting his opponent in the marathon exchange and holding his arms out wide after clinching the title.
The 35-year-old Djokovic is the oldest player to win the title and said the tournament did not leave him unscathed after a gruelling three-set thriller against Russian Daniil Medvedev en route to the semi-finals.
"It was not easy to recover and to really be able to play well in the semis in less than 24 hours after that match," he said. "It's an internal battle with myself because there's one voice that is always telling you you can't do it, you're too tired, this and that, right? The bad guy and the good guy. You try to feed the good guy."
Djokovic ends the season on a high note after a year of ups and downs.
He was unable to defend his title at the Australian Open in January as he was deported from the country due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
His stance also meant he was barred from competing in the United States this year, including at the season's final major at the US Open.
"I look forward to having a couple of weeks off because I was really kind of on the needles an entire year whether it was for tournaments or waiting for permissions to go somewhere, so I'm really glad that I managed to end it in a positive way," said Djokovic, who collected a seventh Wimbledon title in July.
The defeat capped a disappointing end to Ruud's breakout year. The Norwegian had also reached the finals at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows but came off second best.
"In the end it's been disappointing to end up losing these big finals," the 23-year-old world No 3 said.
"Overall if you gave me an offer to end the year at No 3, play the finals that I've played, at the first of January this year, I would probably sign the contract right away."
"I've overachieved compared to my own mind, so I'm very happy about that."
Both players will head to the UAE next month, with Ruud competing at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, while Djokovic will feature in the inaugural World Tennis League in Dubai.
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
