Novak Djokovic won his 7th Masters by beating Jannik Sinner in the finals (6/3 6/3) on November 19, 2023.
The last week on the ATP calendar was full of surprises: Stefanos Tsitsipas’ forfeit, Carlos Alcaraz’s loss against Sascha Zverev, and Jannik Sinner’s win against Novak Djokovic in the group stages. What didn’t surprise anyone is this week’s champion: the Djoker. Yes… him again.
This trophy is the logical outcome of a superb season from the Serb: seven titles including three Grand Slams, only six losses, and 400 weeks as world number one.
Elusive
Novak Djokovic set the tone of the encounter with a first love game. No neutral shot came out of his racket. Each one of his strokes aimed to force Jannik Sinner to stand back. Dominated in the long rallies, the latter changed his game. He disguised a drop shot and rose to the net. Novak Djokovic took advantage of the Italian’s couple of unforced errors to take his serve in the fourth game. The opportunity to get it back never occurred. The Serb’s serve quality made him elusive. After only forty minutes of play, Novak Djokovic led one set to love.
Exhausted by his long battles of the previous days, Jannik Sinner didn’t have the weapons to rival his opponent – who was on a mission. Unable to take control of the rallies, he tried too risky winners. These few errors of haze cost him the set. Novak Djokovic played flawless tennis: deep balls, changes of direction with perfect timing, and measured risk-taking. Nothing stood in his way.
Unruffled
Impatient to win the match, Novak Djokovic got an early love break. When his forehand accelerations weren’t enough, his defensive abilities took over. He didn’t lose one point during his first three games of serve. Jannik Sinner was on the ropes. As usual, his opponent’s dominance didn’t discourage him. He kept playing aggressive tennis with too numerous mistakes. Novak Djokovic reminded the crowd that he is human after all. He made his first unforced errors of the match. The Italian’s thin opportunities were ruined by his too-ambitious returns. Novak Djokovic ended the Turinese fans’ hopes. He won the match on his first occasion.
Jannik Sinner made errors too early in the rallies to have any hope of defeating Novak Djokovic. Without his usual explosiveness, he never had a chance in the finals. This swift defeat doesn’t erase anything from the young Italian’s astonishing season. However, it highlights the Serb’s hegemony on the ATP tour.
Seeing him lose a game is extraordinary. Losing twice in a row against the same opponent was never an option. We might have to wait several months for the Djoker’s next setback.
Marnie Abbou
