Novak Djokovic "feels amazing" after surpassing Pete Sampras for the year-end number one record on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic was presented with the trophy for finishing the year ranked number one for the seventh time after defeating Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in his ATP Finals opener on Monday, breaking a tie with idol Sampras.
A 20-time grand slam champion – a joint record held alongside Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Djokovic revelled in his latest achievement.
"It feels amazing and it feels even better when you win a match and then get your hands on the trophy that I have been blessed to lift seven times," Djokovic said in Turin.
"[I have won] one more than Pete Sampras, who was my childhood hero. He was the one that got me into tennis. He was also an inspiration to me and I dreamt of being a Wimbledon champion and World No. 1 like he was.
"Fast forwarding to today, it is quite amazing to be in this position. I am very grateful. It is something I am very much appreciating and not taking for granted."
World number one Djokovic is looking for his sixth ATP Finals title, though his last success came in 2016.
Djokovic produced a confident performance in his opening match against Ruud, dropping just four points behind his first serve and rallying from a break down in a tight opening set.
The top seed – who tied Ivan Lendl for second-most wins (39) in the history of the ATP Finals – will also face Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev in the Green Group.
"It was a really terrible start, but also funny because I’m still trying to figure out what happened," Djokovic said. "Casper started strong. He was serving well. The altitude, fast court, fast balls – it favours big servers. I knew he had a solid serve, but maybe not as good as Medvedev or Zverev.
"He did positively surprise me with this serve, particularly in the first set. I just managed to read it better in the second set. But it was a close one."
Djokovic, meanwhile, expressed his shock amid the unknown whereabouts of WTA player Peng Shuai.
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has opened an investigation into Peng's sexual assault allegations against a former China leader.
Shuai, 35, posted on Chinese social media site Weibo allegations against Zhang Gaoli – the ex-vice premier and member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee – claiming he had forced her to have sexual relations with him.
In the post, published on Tuesday before subsequently being deleted, the 2013 Wimbledon doubles champion alleged that the pair had extramarital relations and she had developed feelings for him.
All of Peng's content has since been removed from Weibo and numerous reports suggest she has not been seen in recent days.
"I did hear about it a week ago. Honestly, it's shocking that she's missing, more so that it's someone that I have seen on the tour in the previous years quite a few times," said Djokovic.
"It's not much more to say than hope that she will be found, that she's okay. It's terrible … I can imagine just how her family feels that she's missing."
Swiatek admits she would swap shirts with 'huge inspiration' Nadal
Iga Swiatek admits that, like Pedro Cachin, she would also swap shirts with Rafael Nadal following his Madrid Open exit.
The 22-time grand slam champion's farewell appearance at the clay-court ATP Masters tournament, which he has won five times, was ended by a straight-sets defeat to Jiri Lehecka.
Nadal had beaten Cachin in the last 32, with the Argentine subsequently asking his idol for his shirt as a memento following their clash.
Although Swiatek has never been tempted to follow suit with an opponent, the world number one acknowledged she might make an exception for the Spaniard.
"If I would play against Rafa, for sure I would ask for a T-shirt," she laughed.
"For sure, he was a huge inspiration. When I was younger, he was basically the only player I looked up to, but not because of his game on clay - more because of the way he is off the court and how he never gives up, and also his mentality."
Swiatek is through to the semi-finals in the ladies' draw after recovering from losing the opening set to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6 6-0 6-2.
The Pole, who will play former US Open runner-up Madison Keys in the last four, equalled Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the fastest player to reach 25 WTA 1000 wins on clay, doing so in just 29 matches.
'It's time for a magical night at home,' says Vinicius ahead of Bayern Munich second leg
Vinicius Junior is eyeing "a magical night at home" when Real Madrid welcome Bayern Munich for their Champions League semi-final second leg next week.
The two European heavyweights shared a 2-2 draw in a pulsating first leg at the Allianz Arena, setting up a grandstand climax when the battle resumes at Santiago Bernabeu.
Vinicius opened the scoring in the 24th minute, but Madrid found themselves 2-1 behind in the second half after Leroy Sane levelled and Harry Kane slotted home from the penalty spot.
However, the Brazil international was also on target from the penalty spot to ensure a share of the spoils with his 31st direct goal involvement in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 season - more than any other player in that time.
"We always want to win, but we know that this competition is like that, you can't give away balls because teams score the chances they have," he said, as reported by Reuters.
"We have to keep our heads calm, rest until next week, and we know that we and the fans are going to leave everything at the Santiago Bernabeu to qualify.
"Now it's time for a magical night at home to win and secure our place in the final."
Vinicius' first goal saw him calmly slide home from Toni Kroos' delicious throughball, with the latter playing 15 line-breaking passes in the first half - at least 10 more than any other player on the pitch.
Rodrygo, who was fouled by Kim Min-jae for the penalty that led to Madrid's second goal, paid tribute to the 34-year-old.
"We all keep telling him to keep on playing for not just one more season, but many seasons to come yet," he told Movistar. "He's genuinely a maestro with talent which people love to watch, and we all love to play with.
"If we couldn't win, we were determined not to lose. Given what went on, a draw's a good result. We know the Champions League. We're accustomed to matches like this.
"I believe that teams think they've killed us off, and that's when we are at our most dangerous."
Nadal slumps out of Madrid Open as farewell appearance comes to a halt
Jiri Lehecka claimed a memorable win over one of tennis' greats as he downed Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open.
Nadal's farewell appearance at the tournament he has won five times came to an end with a 7-5 6-4 defeat on Tuesday.
The 22-time grand slam champion had been hoping to tee up a quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Ultimately, though, world number 31 Lehecka was the man who progressed.
Lehecka ruined the hopes of the Nadal fans packed into the stands in the Spanish capital, and took control when he reeled off 10 straight points to take the opening set.
Nadal won the Madrid Open in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017, and said farewell to the crowd in an on-court interview following his defeat.
Data Debrief: Nadal falls short of milestone
Nadal had been hoping to win his 60th match at the Madrid Open, while he would have reached his 100th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final had he won. This was his first defeat to a player ranked lower than 20th in the world since he went down to Pablo Cuevas in 2016.
Lehecka, meanwhile, will make his second appearance in the last eight of a Masters 1000 event.
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