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Novak Djokovic continues to hone his legacy with his 40th ATP 1000 title. His superiority would give him an aura of invincibility.
Legend:
Clenches your fist
Novak Djokovic.
Imago/NurPhoto
“No no no. I don’t want to play against him anymore. This is all I want.” Even if Andrei Rublev’s words The Express were accompanied by a smile after his semi-final outing against Novak Djokovic, he probably spoke from the hearts of many a player on the ATP tour. You just don’t want to play against the Serbs.
With a record of 51 wins against 5 defeats, Djokovic has a win rate of 91.1% this season, the third best of his career (after 2011 and 2015). He is still missing a match win at the upcoming ATP Finals in order to end the year as number 1 in the world rankings for the 8th time. This would mean the 36-year-old would further extend his own record (Pete Sampras has 6).
Better than the entire Top 40 combined
In Paris-Bercy, Djokovic continued his winning streak after the Rublev semi-final and won the tournament on Sunday, his 7th in the French capital, thanks to an easy 2-set win against Grigor Dimitrov. It was his 40th title at an ATP 1000 event; another outstanding anniversary milestone in the career of the record Grand Slam winner. For comparison: The entire top 40 of the current ATP ranking (minus Djokovic) collected a total of 26 triumphs at the second highest level.
Despite his proud age, the Serb doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. From the Eastern European sports channel Sports club When asked about his dominance, Djokovic said after the Paris victory: “Nobody is invincible. But I like this aura around me and that the players believe that I am invincible. This is very important to me. It gives me a mental advantage over the others.”
He wants to continue to use this advantage because there is no end in sight to his hunger for victory. “I still want to win more,” is his motto at the ATP Finals (from November 12th).