ATP

Djokovic takes Tel Aviv title as he fends off Cilic

By Sports Desk October 02, 2022

Novak Djokovic scooped his 89th career title with victory over Marin Cilic in Sunday's Tel Aviv Open final.

Playing his first singles event since winning Wimbledon in July, Djokovic landed a 6-3 6-4 victory, improving his career head-to-head winning record to 19-2 against former US Open champion Cilic.

He broke serve to lead 3-1 in the opening set, and then struck immediately in the second set to tighten his grip on the contest, completing the task with a service winner on his first championship point.

This indoor hard-court success goes down as a third title of the year for Djokovic, who won the Internazionali d'Italia on clay before triumphing on the Wimbledon grass. He is the first man to win a title on all three surfaces in 2022 at ATP Tour level.

Prevented from playing the North American hard-court stretch of the season, due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination, Djokovic sat out the US Open.

He made his first post-Wimbledon appearance at the invitational Laver Cup team event in London last week, which doubled up as Roger Federer's retirement party.

At the age of 35, Djokovic hopes to be a presence on tour for a good while to come, and Sunday's straight-sets picking apart of Cilic was a fresh demonstration of his enduring prowess.

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    The Italian showed his intentions with a love service game to open the first set, but was matched by his American opponent, who was also looking to maintain his perfect start. 

    Sinner missed four break points in the eighth game, but made no mistake in Fritz's following service game to claim the early advantage in Turin. 

    Fritz again traded blows with the year-end world number one, but would again lose a decisive break late in the second set that put Sinner within touching distance. 

    The American exchanged in another pulsating rally with his opponent, but sent a backhand wide to send Sinner through and to the top of the Ilie Nastase Group after two matches.

    Up next for Sinner is Daniil Medvedev, who beat Alex de Minaur earlier on Tuesday, while Fritz will face the Australian on Thursday. 

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    In a back-and-forth tussle with Alexander Zverev to end the year with the most wins, Sinner levelled the German with his Tour-leading 67th victory in 2024 on Tuesday. 

    He also sealed a 12th win against an American opponent this season, only managing more wins against Ben Shelton (three) this season than Fritz (two, level with Alex Michelsen). 

    Sinner (2023-24) is only the third player in the Open Era to claim 47+ ATP match wins on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2005-06) and Novak Djokovic (2012-13, 15-16).

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    Medvedev, who lost his opening game of the tournament to Taylor Fritz, returned to winning ways with a 6-2 6-4 triumph over the Australian in 78 minutes on Tuesday. 

    The Russian cut a frustrated figure in his defeat to Fritz on Sunday, breaking his racket and was docked a point after serving a third consecutive double fault during the encounter.

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    Medvedev also claimed his sixth top 10 win of 2024, while also improving his head-to-head record against his Australian opponent to 7-3, avenging his defeat in the French Open round of 16 earlier this year. 

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