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Novak Djokovic defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-5 6-3 to win his sixth ATP Finals title on Sunday (November 20), earning the biggest paycheck in tennis – $4,740,300 – for going undefeated in the season-ending tournament.
Djokovic won the title for the first time since 2015 with an ace, one of nine in the match, in front of a rapturous crowd that was squarely in his corner.
“Got to stay focused the entire match, every single point, the momentum can switch to the other side really quickly,” the Serbian said in a televised interview after the match.
“The fact that I waited seven years makes this victory even sweeter,” he added as he matched Roger Federer’s six titles in the season-ending event amongst the world’s top eight players.
Ruud, 23, has been playing his best tennis of his career in 2022, going toe-to-toe with the 21-time major winner early on but making two clumsy errors at the worst possible time to hand Djokovic the break at the end of the first set.
Djokovic accelerated from there, reminding the Pala Alpitour crowd why he is among the best ever to pick up a racket as he used his mighty forehand to break Ruud in the fourth game of the second set.
In a 36-shot penultimate rally, the Norwegian threw everything he had at the veteran, but the Wimbledon champion was simply too sharp, outlasting his opponent in the marathon exchange and holding his arms out wide afterward.
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