DJOKOVIC TAKES DRAMA OUT OF NO. 1 RANKING, CLINCHES IT AT YEAR’S END FOR THIRD TIME BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 14th November 2014

DJOKOVIC TAKES DRAMA OUT OF NO. 1 RANKING, CLINCHES IT AT YEAR'S END FOR THIRD TIME BY RICKY DIMON

epa04489642 Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses with the Barclays ATP World Tour No. 1 Award trophy he received during the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 14 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

The drama has been taken out of just about every singles match right from the start so far this week in London. Novak Djokovic did the same to the battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking.

With Roger Federer needing to earn more round-robin wins than Djokovic at the World Tour Finals (and then the title plus two Davis Cup rubbers next weekend), the Serb always knew going 3-0 in Group A would be enough. He clinched that undefeated record with no trouble of any kind, following up blowouts of Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Tomas Berdych on Friday afternoon.

Djokovic lost only eight points in eight service games and did not face a single break point as he cruised into the semifinals after a mere one hour and nine minutes of play. The top seed also fired 18 winners to only 10 unforced errors, including a miniscule three off the forehand side.

“There [were] not much doubts that the match could go the other way,” Berdych admitted. “There was [no] way I can challenge him better than this. He [deserved] to win. There was no question about it.”

There was doubts or questions if Djokovic would finish with the No. 1 ranking, either. This is the third time in his career Djokovic has accomplished such a feat, having previously come out on top in 2011 and 2012.

“He just secured his spot for the No. 1 player in the world,” Berdych noted. “I think it just show how great he is; how well he played during the whole season.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning a point against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their round robin match for the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 14 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

“It’s a great deal of happiness knowing what I’ve been through the entire season in order to get to where I am and finish the year as No. 1,” Djokovic explained. “As I said on the court, I owe gratitude to my team, to all the people who were next to me.

It’s one of the ultimate challenges in this sport, especially because the tennis has become very competitive in the last five, 10 years, very physical. To have a shot at No. 1 of the world, you need to be consistently healthy and successful throughout the year. Because (Rafael) Nadal and Federer are so good for so many years, they always make you win at least one or two Grand Slams if you eventually want to be No. 1, and of course with consistency, because they’ve been so consistent with their results. I know how difficult it is. It’s why I’m proud of this achievement.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

November 14, 2014 at 1:37 pm

#DJOKOVIC TAKES DRAMA OUT OF NO. 1 RANKING, CLINCHES IT AT YEAR’S END FOR THIRD TIME BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/sdEmyQdWvv #tennis #ATP
RD_Tennistalk says:

November 14, 2014 at 2:29 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #DJOKOVIC TAKES DRAMA OUT OF NO. 1 RANKING, CLINCHES IT AT YEAR’S END FOR THIRD TIME BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/sdEmy…