Djokovic’s Golden Rule: A Grandmaster Twice Over!

Novak Djokovic made history on Saturday, defeating Milos Raonic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the Western & Southern Open and complete his second Career Golden Masters.

Djokovic, who is a perfect 23-0 in 2020, is the only player in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles twice. Incredibly, no other player has accomplished the feat once. The 33-year-old also tied Rafael Nadal’s record for most Masters 1000 trophies with 35.

It wasn’t easy for the Serbian, though. Djokovic got off to a sluggish start in the first set less than 24 hours on from a gruelling three-hour, one-minute semi-final against Roberto Bautista Agut. The top seed had to dig deep to find his best form, clinching the title after two hours.

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Djokovic entered the match with a 10-0 ATP Head2Head series lead against the former World No. 3, with eight of his previous victories coming in straight sets. But the top seed struggled to work his way into rallies in the opening set.

Raonic came out firing, playing aggressively with his forehand and pressuring the top seed with his booming serve, using the body serve to elicit weak replies. Djokovic double faulted at 1-4 to give Raonic a double-break, and the Canadian closed out the set without facing a break point.

But like he did against Bautista Agut, Djokovic dug into Louis Armstrong Stadium and began to find his stride. As the favourite put more returns into play and started to neutralise the 6’5″ right-hander’s serve, Raonic began to misfire from the baseline. The forehands that beautifully opened up the court in the early going were suddenly missing their target. The Canadian was also made to run more rather than exclusively dictating.

There was a twist in the plot at the start of the decider, when Raonic broke in his first return game for a 2-0 lead. Entering the match, the Canadian had won 55 of his 57 service games (96%) for the week (96%), signaling trouble for Djokovic.

But once again, Djokovic raised his level under pressure, earning a “boomerang break” to get right back on serve. Then the Serbian tightened his grip on the momentum by breaking in his second consecutive return game. He played an incredible scoop forehand from deep in the court — a ball most players would not have retrieved — to keep a point alive, letting out a massive roar when Raonic made an error on the next shot.

The ending was not straightforward, though. Raonic crushed a backhand down the line to earn a break point as Djokovic served for the match at 5-4. The Serbian hit a 69 mph second serve, giving the former World No. 3 a chance to work his way into the point. But after a few balls back and forth in the ad court, Raonic smothered a forehand into the net. Two points later, the unseeded Canadian sailed a forehand long and Djokovic lifted his arms in celebration.

It was a difficult week for Djokovic. He needed mid-match visits from the trainer for a neck adjustment in the second round against Ricardas Berankis and the semi-finals against Bautista Agut. But nevertheless he lifted the trophy in the first tournament since the ATP Tour was suspended due to COVID-19 in March.

Did You Know?
Djokovic is the first World No. 1 to win the Western & Southern Open since Roger Federer in 2012.