Novak Djokovic made more history on Sunday when he captured a record-equalling sixth Nitto ATP Finals crown in Turin. Following his straight-sets victory against Casper Ruud, the Serbian revealed that the fire within him burns as bright as ever.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that what I hold in my mind is a huge hunger still to win trophies,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “[To] make history in this sport, compete on the highest level all around the world, bring good emotions to sports fans, tennis fans. That’s what drives me a lot.

“I have a lot of different motivational factors, and I don’t lack any motivation for the moment. Of course, we all have bad days or bad weeks. But generally the feeling is still there.”

The 35-year-old, who is up to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, dropped just one set en route to the title in Turin to become an undefeated champion. Djokovic admitted that he felt close to his best at the prestigious year-end event, leaving northern Italy high in confidence.

“I always see myself as the best player in the world,” Djokovic said. “I have that kind of mentality and that kind of approach. Regardless of who is across the net, regardless of what the surface is, regardless of what season it is, what number of the professional season in my career we’re facing. It’s always the same. The ambitions are as high as possible.

“I had an amazing finish to the season with most of the tournaments that I played indoors I won,” Djokovic later added. “Indoors has been historically very successful for me. Playing in Italy, in a country where I love to play, where [I] have really special connection with people, makes this trophy and this win even more special.”

Djokovic’s victory against Ruud, which tied him level with Roger Federer on six year-end titles won, felt extra special for the Serbian with his family watching courtside. The 91-time tour-level champion has relished the opportunity to spend time with his son Stefan and daughter Tara this week in Turin and feels that their presence was crucial to his on-court success.

“I’m very grateful to my wife and my children for coming. I don’t get to have these moments on the Tour with them so much, so I of course try to enjoy it as much as I possibly can,” Djokovic said. “I took both of my children, particularly my son, to a lot of the tennis training sessions, warmups and matches. He was very loud [during the final]. I was very surprised. I could hear his voice the entire time. He was very much into it.

“They make my life on Tour easier. The pressures, the expectations, the tensions that you normally go through in a big tournament like this, when they’re around, it lowers a bit so I can have that time off, quality time with my family. That really soothes me and gives me serenity in order to recalibrate and play my best tennis the next day. I cherish these moments a lot. Hopefully, as they grow older, they’ll realise even more what special moments we’re living together.”

Djokovic ends his season holding a 42-7 record. The Serbian lifted ATP Tour titles in Rome, Astana and Tel Aviv, while he won his 21st Grand Slam crown at Wimbledon.

Goran Ivanisevic revealed a scary concept for the rest of the ATP Tour on Sunday evening. After Novak Djokovic won a record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals trophy, his coach said the Serbian will still improve.

“He’s practising even harder than when he was 22. That’s why he’s still so good and that’s why he’s still going to be even better,” Ivanisevic said. “The will to practise, the will to improve, the will to be better is amazing. He’s taking care of his body. In my time we stopped tennis [aged] 30, 31. You were already [an] old guy ready to leave. But now [it is] unbelievable.”

The 35-year-old shattered the record for oldest champion in tournament history. Roger Federer previously held that record having triumphed aged 30 in 2011.

“Look at Roger couple years back. Look at Rafa. Look at him. They all talk about, yes, young players are coming. It’s great for the tennis… You have [the] youngest No. 1 in the world who made unbelievable things this year, Carlos [Alcaraz],” Ivanisevic said. “But look at Novak. He’s still hungry, he’s still winning the tournaments, playing unbelievable tennis. He’s still already thinking now about preparation for next season.”

Djokovic is known as a relentless baseliner and magnificent mover who often finds his very best tennis under the most pressure. But the Serbian’s serve was dominant Sunday against Casper Ruud, against whom he did not face a break point.

“His serve was [a] very underestimated shot all through [his] career. If you look so many matches, five, 10 years ago, his serve always saved him somehow,” Ivanisevic said. “But now he’s even better. Now he always wants to improve. Especially this week, amazing percentage, amazing precision of the serve. Every time he needed, he hit [an] unbelievable first serve. His second serve is much better.

“But his serve is one of the best shots which people, they don’t talk [about], because they have so many other things, they forget to talk about his serve. He has one of the best serves. Especially when it’s tight, it’s tough, especially this week he was hitting unbelievable serve under pressure.”

Djokovic finished his season with five titles, highlighted by his triumph at the Pala Alpitour, his 21st major at Wimbledon and 38th ATP Masters 1000 crown in Rome. According to Ivanisevic, with the way the sport has continued to move forward, Djokovic is set on continuing to evolve with it.

“He’s [a] guy who wants to improve all the time. He’s taking care of his body. Look at how he moves on the court, slides. He’s amazing,” Ivanisevic said. “It’s always something that now the world offers you to be better, to improve. I think in that case players are playing in much older age, and they’re playing well. Maybe some of them, they’re playing best tennis. They’re looking unbelievable.”

Casper Ruud, by his own estimation, overachieved during the 2022 ATP Tour season. Following his defeat to Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Nitto ATP Finals title match, the 23-year-old Norwegian will finish the year at World No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

His lofty position is reward for three tour-level titles this season, and an additional four finals at some of the biggest events on the calendar: Turin, the US Open, Roland Garros and Miami.

“In the end it’s been disappointing to end up losing these big finals,” Ruud said, reflecting on the past 11 months. “Overall, if you gave me an offer to end the year at No. 3, play the finals that I’ve played, at the 1st of January this year, I would probably sign the contract right away. No doubt about it.”

Asked again about his record this year in finals, he later added: “It gives me motivation and a hunger to maybe next time, if I ever get to another final like this… I hope I can learn from what I have done this year and not been able to do and see how it goes. I just feel like I still have room for improvements, even though I’m very happy with my game and how things have turned out this year.”

Ruud was particularly surprised by his run this week in Turin, the indoor surface not favourable to his looping ground strokes. 

“This result to me is maybe one of the most surprising, finishing the year here on a blistering fast indoor hard court, making the final — not something that I found very likely,” he said after his 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Djokovic. “Maybe neither did I, in the US Open, [expect] to make the final.

“I’ve overachieved compared to my own mind, so I’m very happy about that.”

By surpassing his goals this season — which initially included reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final — Ruud has raised the bar for 2023. He is already eying his next big opportunity at the Australian Open, where he does not have any Pepperstone ATP Rankings points to defend.

“This year I was not even able to play the Australian Open, so it’s a big chance for me to get some sort of revenge down there and hopefully have a good result,” said Ruud, who will end the year 1,000 points behind World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. “I look forward to going to Australia and starting a new season. I look forward to playing best-of-five sets again. I think for the Australian Open I can say I’m already hungry to have a good result and let’s see how next year plays out.

“There will be a lot of points and results for me to defend [after Australia]. I hope I can do that and achieve even more. That’s not going to be easy because this year I’ve done very well in certain tournaments, but I will try my best.”

Ruud finalised his 2022 ATP Tour season with a 51-22 tour-level record, his second straight year with more than 50 wins. His many deep tournament runs have sent his match count climbing above 70 in each of the past two years, but Ruud is looking forward to another marathon season, with injury prevention among his main goals.

“I’m probably going to have more eyes on me from next year on. That’s something I’m going to just try to deal with and see how it goes,” he said.

“I’m just going to focus on the matches that I play, take it from there. When you’re starting in Australia, you know you probably going to play tens of thousands of points in the year, hopefully if you have a good one, close to 80 or 90 matches. It’s just one of many [tournaments].

“It’s like the start of a marathon and you are motivated for it.”

Novak Djokovic continues to etch his name in the record books. The Serbian tied Roger Federer’s record of six Nitto ATP Finals titles on Sunday in Turin.

Djokovic owns six more ‘Big Titles’ than any other player in history, with longtime rival Rafael Nadal (59) his closest competitor. Outside of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer (54), no other player holds more than 30 of the prestigious crowns (Pete Sampras, 30).

The Serbian first triumphed at the year-end championships in 2008, when the tournament was called the Tennis Masters Cup. Djokovic has obliterated the record of biggest gap between first and most recent Nitto ATP Finals titles at 14. Before his win Sunday, the previous record belonged to Sampras and Federer, who lifted their first and last season finale trophies eight years apart.

Djokovic triumphed in Turin without losing a set, earning a record $4,740,300 in prize money. He lost just one set en route to the title, claiming victories against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Ruud.

Djokovic’s ‘Big Title’ win rate holds steady at one trophy for every 3.2 events played (65/209), while Nadal has claimed one ‘Big Title’ for every 3.5 tournaments he has played (59/207). The only other players who have won a ‘Big Title’ at a greater rate than once per five events played are Federer (4.4, 54/240) and Pete Sampras (4.9, 30/147).

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

^ Includes Olympic Games gold medals and tournament participations
* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990

Novak Djokovic earned a record-equalling sixth Nitto ATP Finals title and a historic $4.7m payday when he defeated Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 in the Turin title match Sunday.

In a clash between this week’s two round-robin winners, it was Djokovic’s high-class return game that proved the difference as he carved out all five of the break point opportunities in the match. Despite some typically strong hitting from Ruud, Djokovic’s big-match mentality prevailed as he sealed a 93-minute victory at the Pala Alpitour.

“I missed a couple of forehands in the last game when I was serving for it,” Djokovic said after his win. “I had nerves, but I am really grateful to be able to serve the match out. I had a big ace to close out. Seven years [since winning this title] has been a long time. At the same time, the fact that I waited seven years makes this victory even sweeter and even bigger.”

The Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana champion Djokovic has now won the Nitto ATP Finals in three different cities. The Serbian triumphed in Shanghai in 2008 and in London in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The 35-year-old also becomes the oldest champion in the tournament’s 53-year history.

Djokovic is five years older than the previous oldest Nitto ATP Finals champion, Roger Federer in 2011. The Serbian has now lifted the trophy at the season finale in three different decades, yet another testament to his longevity and ability to consistently compete against the best.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that what I hold in my mind is a huge hunger still to win trophies,” said Djokovic in his post-match press conference. “Make history of this sport, compete on the highest level all around the world, bring good emotions to sports fans, tennis fans. That’s what drives me a lot.

“I have a lot of different motivational factors, and I don’t lack any motivation for the moment. Of course, we all have bad days or bad weeks. But generally the feel is still there.”

Most Nitto ATP Finals Titles

Djokovic was pleased with the way he had completed the victory in the final game against Ruud as he improved to 18-1 across his four final tour-level events of the 2022 season to lift his 91st tour-level trophy.

”It is finals. Usually these kind of matches are decided by very small margins,” the Serbian said after the match. “One break of serve was enough in both sets. I knew Casper was playing really well coming into this match. We both served really well and I think in some decisive moments, like the 12th game of the first set, I managed to put a few returns back in play.

”I made him run, made him play. I was really pleased with the way I played. I was looking to be very aggressive and it worked great. I am really pleased with the performance.”

Ruud was the first Scandinavian to contest a Nitto ATP Finals championship match since Sweden’s Stefan Edberg. Despite Sunday’s defeat, the Norwegian will finish the season at No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“To my team, another year has passed on the ATP Tour,” he said at the trophy ceremony. “Thank you to everyone who helps me and pushes me everyday, Without you it would not be possible. It has been a year of many highs, some really big highs. Of course, some lows. I look forward to the next season already.”

Let the celebration begin 🥳#NittoATPFinals | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/3wyUokxYkD

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 20, 2022

After sealing straight-sets semi-final victories on Saturday, both players picked up where they left off in the championship match in Turin, where they hit confidently through their groundstrokes to try and pressure their opponent in some riveting early exchanges. It was Djokovic who remained the greater threat on return, however, and despite letting slip two break point chances in the second game and another in the eighth, he made a decisive move at 6-5 to seal a set in which he struck 14 winners, including six aces.

Despite a similarly tight opening to the second set, Djokovic broke through again on Ruud’s serve in the fourth game as he repeatedly landed his groundstrokes near the baseline. Ruud was unable to dominate rallies with his forehand as Djokovic remained comfortable on serve to seal victory, having struck 31 winners to his opponent’s 17.

Ruud has delivered some strong performances on the big stage in 2022. As well as becoming champion in Buenos Aires, Geneva and Gstaad, the 23-year-old reached his first two Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and the US Open and his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami. Yet he could do little to penetrate Djokovic’s rock-solid defence in Turin, where the Serbian also won 85 per cent (33/39) of points behind his first serve.

Another piece of ATP Tour history was made on Sunday. Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte became the first woman to umpire the singles final at the Nitto ATP Finals since the tournament began in 1970.

Champion vibes only 🏆 @Ibra_official 🤗 @DjokerNole #NittoATPFinals | @acmilan pic.twitter.com/PMsuwHVd6e

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 20, 2022

The Nitto ATP Finals Fan Village is a hub where spectators can relax before and after taking in the intense on-court action, but it also provides the opportunity to discover more about title sponsor Nitto’s exciting sustainability initiatives.

Leg-powered and arm-powered energy-generating bikes have been set up in the Nitto booth, encouraging fans to have a go at producing their own power to gain a greater understanding of what is required to generate clean, sustainable energy. The reward for fans who generate five watts of energy on the bikes is a coin to slot into the nearby giant Gashapon for a prize.

One such fan trying out the arm-powered generators at the Nitto booth was Razvan Constantin. The Rafael Nadal fan from Romania was impressed with the energy-generating bikes that demonstrate the importance of electric power.

“It’s interesting, because they produce energy, and it is very good,” said Constantin, who was in the fan village after watching Nadal defeat Casper Ruud at the Pala Alpitour. “It is something new and very good, so why not? You can also [produce electricity] for bulbs for your home and things like this, so it’s very interesting.”

^{Photo Credit: Siobhan Hennessy}
Standing near to the bikes is another attraction set up by Nitto to promote sustainability, the Future Wish Tree. Fans can hang messages on the tree containing their wishes for the future of Earth and society.

For the second consecutive year, the rubbish bins installed at the fan village are powered by solar panels to compress the waste inside and manage their capacity. These bins are revolutionary in terms of efficiency of waste management, and they also contribute to raising awareness of waste separation among fans visiting the venue.

^{Photo Credit: Siobhan Hennessy}
Nitto is spreading the word about sustainability beyond the tournament venue, too. At Turin’s Hotel NH Torino Piazza Carlina, Nitto showcases some of its products being recognised as friendly to the environment and human life. The Nitto Group has a long history of contributing to the improvement of the global environment and society, through customer-oriented innovation.

Now Nitto created a new recognition scheme for its products, which certifies the positive contributions those products offer to the global environment and planet, PlanetFlags™, or to an improvement of people’s lifestyle, HumanFlags™.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury suffered championship match heartbreak at the Nitto ATP Finals last season. One year on, the second seeds produced an impressive performance Sunday to ensure they would not fall at the final hurdle again, defeating Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic to become undefeated champions in Turin.

In a high-quality final, the American-British tandem was sharp from the first to the last point, overcoming the Croatians 7-6(4), 6-4 to end their season in style in northern Italy.

Salisbury is the first Briton to win the Nitto ATP Finals doubles title, while Ram is the 18th American to clinch the crown. The pair has earned 1,500 Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings points and $930,300 as undefeated champions, the biggest doubles payday in history.

“That’s probably up there with one of our best matches, one of our best matches as a team,” Salisbury said. “I think we’re so proud of everything we’ve done this week. We’ve come through some tough situations, but we’ve stuck together the whole way. [I’m] so happy, I can’t believe we’ve achieved this.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Ram said. “My partner played out of this world today, but I guess that’s what you’ve got to do and that’s why he’s one of the best around. He saves his best for the biggest moments. I’m so proud of us a team for sure.”

Ram and Salisbury, who lost against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in last year’s final, have now captured nine tour-level titles as a team. In a standout season, the pair lifted ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, while they lifted their third Grand Slam trophy at the US Open, holding a 37-14 record on the year.

With their 85-minute victory, Ram and Salisbury have improved to 3-4 in their ATP Head2Head series against Mektic and Pavic, having also defeated the fourth seeds in the semi-finals in Turin last year.

Both teams were strong on serve in the first set, with limited opportunities offered up on return as the opener moved to a tie-break. Ram and Salisbury, who saved the only break point of the set at 1-1, increased their depth on return in the tie-break and remained solid overhead, dispatching volleys and smashes to move ahead.

The second seeds then struck immediately at the start of the second set to gain further control, profiting from two double faults from Pavic to break. From there, Ram and Salisbury raced through their service games, winning 84 per cent (16/19) of points behind their first delivery to seal an emotional victory.

“I didn’t think about that too much,” Salisbury said on becoming first British champion at the season finale. “Obviously, that’s a nice thing to achieve, but it was mainly about us a team, the pair of us and everyone that supports us. We’ve got so many people behind us. It’s just a massive team effort and we are just so happy with everything we’ve done this week.”

Ram is the 18th American to win the doubles title at the year-end event, joining Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe, Peter Fleming, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan.

“It’s certainly pretty cool,” Ram said when asked about joining the list of American champions. “There’s been so many great American doubles players and so many great players that have won this. It’s an honour to be on that trophy with them for sure.”

Mektic and Pavic were seeking their sixth tour-level title of the year this week in Turin. They triumphed together at an ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, while they also lifted trophies in Geneva, at The Queen’s Club in London, in Eastbourne and Astana.

Mektic was aiming to win his second Nitto ATP Finals crown, having triumphed with Wesley Koolhof in 2020.

“Congratulations to Rajeev and Joe,” Mektic said during the trophy ceremony. “You were really good today. Congratulations and enjoy your moment. I want to also thank Mate and our whole box, we had a great week.”

Four of the Top 8 men in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Live Rankings meet on Sunday in Turin, with storylines aplenty in the Nitto ATP Finals title match.

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury are seeking to complete unfinished business in their fourth straight appearance at the season finale, while Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic hunt revenge after a semi-final defeat to the American-British duo last year in Turin. Both teams bring perfect 4-0 records on the week into the high-stakes showdown, with the winning team to earn 1,500 Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings points and $930,300 as undefeated champions.

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Ram/Salisbury fell to Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the 2021 final, but enter this year’s title tilt full of confidence after defeating top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in Saturday’s semis to storm into the championship match.

“We are very happy to be through,” Salisbury said after the 7-6(7), 6-4 victory. “I feel we are pretty good at handling whatever any situation we are in. It was tough not closing it out more straightforward in the [first set] tie-break, but we fought hard and got it done eventually. We then stayed focused and played pretty smart and held onto our serve well. We are pretty happy with the performance.”

The second seeds won titles at the US Open and at the ATP Masters 1000s in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati this year, recording a perfect 3-0 record in finals.

Mektic/Pavic advanced to the final with a dramatic 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-6 win against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara on Saturday evening. The Croatians are looking forward to their opportunity to avenge a 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-4 loss to Ram/Salisbury one year ago at the season finale, the most recent meeting between the pairs.

“I remember in the semis we lost a tough match,” Pavic said. “We didn’t drop our serve, they won in a Match Tie-break, and I am expecting the same thing. They like the court and the conditions. I am looking forward to it. That is why you play, to go on the big stage.”

Mektic is the only one of the four finalists with a Nitto ATP Finals crown in his trophy case, the 33-year-old winning the 2020 title with Koolhof. Together, Mektic/Pavic won five ATP Tour titles this year, their biggest triumph a title defence in Rome. They have won 14 tour-level titles in the past two years, including at Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.