Djokovic Defeats Nadal for Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Trophy

November 12, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Novak Djokovic won the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals trophy for a third time Monday night, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over the top-seeded Rafael Nadal. Djokovic, a winner both in 2008 and 2010, extended his winning streak to 22 matches with the win at The O2 in London, upping his record in title matches to 41-21.

"We push each other to the limit, and we make each other better," said Djokovic. "We make each other work harder on our games, especially when we play against each other. It's always a huge challenge. This can serve as a great platform for 2014 season. I'm extra motivated and inspired to work and get myself, first of all, rested and recovered in the off season, and then work on my game and get ready for Australian Open."

With the win, Djokovic earned $1,923,000 in prize money and 1,500 Emirates ATP Rankings points, as Nadal won $1,013,000 and 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

"One thing that made the difference in today's match was the serve," said Nadal. "I didn't serve well, he served well. On this kind of court, the first shot is very important and he hit that first shot much better than me. I think at the beginning he was playing much better than me."

Nadal had been attempting to become the third Spaniard to capture the ATP World Tour Finals trophy, after Manuel Orantes in 1975 and Alex Corretja in 1998. Djokovic, meanwhile, became the seventh player to win the year-end championship at least three times, joining Roger Federer (six titles), Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras (five each), Ilie Nastase (four), and Boris Becker and John McEnroe (three each). Djokovic and Nadal both came in with 4-0 records at this year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and this was their Open Era record 39th meeting (Nadal leads 22-17). It was their sixth meeting of the season (tied 3-3) and 19th in a final (Djokovic leads 10-9).


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
USTA NTC
Century

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