By Ricky Dimon
Taking a page out of Roger Federer’s playbook to plaster your career achievements all over your clothes, shoes, bags, and anything else on on which greatness can be displayed, Novak Djokovic arrived in style for an-court ceremony at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday.
Following Kevin Anderson’s victory over Dominic Thiem, Djokovic was presented with the year-end No. 1 player in the world trophy, which he clinched when Rafael Nadal withdrew from London due to knee and abdominal injuries.
The Serb received the hardware wearing a white sweater with a sparkling gold “1” near the left collarbone area.
“It has been an amazing season especially the last five months,” Djokovic told the crowd. “After surgery, it took time for me to find my confidence and level of tennis I was looking for. Although I am standing here on my own accepting this trophy, this could not have been possible without my team. This is because of teamwork, team success, and I want to thank my coach Marian Vajda, Gebhard Gritsch my fitness coach, my physio, my wife, my parents and my brother.
“Everyone that has been alongside me on this journey all these years, thank you for supporting me. Let’s keep it going.”
It was interesting to note that Dominic Thiem had most of the crowd support against Anderson. Aside from Federer, who is obviously the overwhelming fan favorite in this field of eight, support should probably be somewhat balanced among the other seven. There aren’t any real heroes or villains. But Thiem definitely had the cheers behind him on Sunday afternoon.
Of course, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that Anderson smoked the Austrian in set one and the fans wanted to see a third so they tried to help Thiem in the second–but to no avail.
That being said, an appreciative crowd was more than happy to oblige when Anderson–during his on-court interview–asked them to sing “Happy Birthday” to his wife, Kelsey.
The South African also delivered one subtle gem in the press room, appearing to suggest that even his dog–Katie–is aware of being more famous because of Anderson’s recent success.
“It comes with the territory,” the two-time Grand Slam runner-up commented. “Obviously the more success you have, I guess the more in the public eye you get recognized a little bit more. I think between us–Kelsey and Katie, as well–I think we’ve always had a good perspective on it.”
Topics: 10sballs, London, Nitto ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic, Sports, Tennis, Tennis10sBalls