Novak Djokovic’s has extended his unbeaten run in 2020 to 22 consecutive matches after battling back from a set down to win the Western and Southern Open on Saturday.
The top seed headed into the final with a perfect 10-0 head-to-head lead against Milos Raonic but struggled against the Canadian initially before prevailing 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic, who has been bothered by issues with his neck and abdomen over the past week, illustrated his fighting spirit throughout the showdown. Besides an early thrashing in the opener, the Serbian also trailed the decider 0-2 before winning four games in a row to turn his fortunes around.
“The last three, four days I have struggled with my physical condition but I managed to pull this one through and recover from last night despite not having so much time,” Djokovic commented during his post-match interview.
“The first set he (Raonic) was playing great. I made some double faults and handed two breaks to him.’
“It’s always hard playing Milos, he has one of the best serves of the game. Puts so much pressure on your service game.”
Throughout the roller-coaster encounter, which took place under a roof due to rain, Djokovic hit 12 winners against 15 unforced errors. Withstanding 10 aces fired by the world No.30 who struggled behind his second serve at times. Overall each player dropped serve three times and ironically Djokovic won one less point than Raonic during the final despite clinching the title.
“It was a very close encounter all the way until the last shot. It was anybody’s game,” he said.
This year’s tournament marked the return of the ATP Tour following a five-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the event was far from ordinary with a ban on fans attending and players being kept inside a ‘bubble’ in what will be the same conditions for next week’s US Open.
“We are grateful to have the opportunity to compete. I’m thankful that I’m here,” said the 33-year-old. “Winning a tournament is obviously a huge bonus but I just wanted to restart the season on the hardcourt’s because it’s my favourite surface.”
“It’s definitely very strange circumstances but we have to accept it and get use to it. I think everybody is doing their best to make sure the tournament has been organised to the best possible way to make everybody feel safe.” He added.
The victory in New York, which is the temporary home of the Western and Southern Open this year because of the pandemic, has rewritten the record books. Djokovic has become the first player to have ever won each of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments at least twice. Overall, his Masters tally now stands at 35 in which is the joint-highest in history along with Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic has also become only the fifth man in the Open Era to have won an 80th title on the ATP Tour.
