Last week, Novak Djokovic took the 89th singles title of his extraordinary career. The former world number 1 triumphed in the ATP 250 in Tel Aviv without losing a single set, also benefiting from a not impossible draw. The Serbian’s goal is to get the pass for the ATP Finals in Turin, as he himself admitted shortly before the start of the tournament.
For Nole this is the third seal of the season, after the successes on the ground in Rome and on the grass of Wimbledon. As everyone knows, the 35-year-old from Belgrade played little in 2022 due to his choice not to get vaccinated against Coronavirus.
Goran Ivanisevic’s protege was forced to miss two majors, the Australian Open and the US Open, as well as all the American Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati). For the ‘Djoker’ it will be enough to stay in the Top 20 to secure a place in Turin.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t won the ATP Finals since 2015 and he absolutely wants to break this fast.
Djokovic won his 89th ATP title
In Israel where he won his 89th singles title, Novak Djokovic should also have teamed up with local Jonathan Erlich, the only player with whom he won a doubles title during his career (at Queen’s, in 2010).
Erlich was due to play the last tournament of his career with the Serbian legend at the age of 45, but he had to withdraw due to physical problems. In a press conference, Nole explains that he was very touched by the despair of his partner.
A new moment of emotion a week after the overwhelming farewell of his rival, Roger Federer. “I had a lot of great moments this week, of course one of them is winning the title, it was a really fun tournament. Playing the other day with kids was also wonderful, I always try to do that every time I go to tournaments and here in Israel it was no different, they were all very nice.
And finally, I hold back Jonathan Erlich’s tears the week he retired, I saw him cry before his last practice because he knew he couldn’t play the next day, it hurt my heart. It was an extremely difficult time for him because all he wanted was to say goodbye by playing one last game, even if it was only a few games, but nothing worked out.
It was a sad but very moving moment, we both have a very good relationship and we shared a lot of moments during this week”. Djokovic has a lot of fans but that means he also has a lot of non-supporters too. But after watching him play wheelchair tennis and bringing importance to it, they also couldn’t stop themselves from praising the athlete.
