Djokovic wins Masters Cup title

Paul Alexander , The Jakarta Post , Shanghai, China | Sun, 11/16/2008 6:25 PM | Sports

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic claimed the Masters Cup with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in Sunday's final to end a six-month title drought.

After Davydenko netted a serve return on match point, Djokovic repeatedly pumped both fists before throwing two rackets, his wristbands and shirt into the crowd. He went over to his family and coach, and they held a group hug, jumping several times together in joy.

"I'm very, very happy to end up with the title," said Djokovic, who won $625,000 and a Mercedes SUV. He got into the car, which was brought on court during the awards ceremony, and honked the horn.

Djokovic dedicated the victory to his family, support team and fans back in Serbia. He also praised the Chinese fans; some of whom spent hours outside the players' hotel seeking autographs and photos.

"I never experienced anything in my life like I did in front of the hotel," Djokovic said. "I got at least three gifts every night."

It was the Serb's first tournament victory since he won the Rome Masters in May and left him just 10 points behind Roger Federer in the men's rankings.

Overtaking the Swiss star will be no easy feat since Djokovic will have to defend his titles early in the year at the Australian Open and Indian Wells. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has a substantial lead, although he is nursing a sore knee that kept him away from Shanghai.

Djokovic, who said he was exhausted after needing nearly three hours to beat Gilles Simon in Saturday’s semifinals, was sharp from the start. He won the first five games, allowing Davydenko only six points.

While the fans in packed Qi Zhong stadium clearly favored Djokovic, they roared when Davydenko finally got on the board to pull within 5-1.

Djokovic had to fend off double break-point in the next game before finishing off the set with a deep backhand crosscourt that Davydenko couldn't handle.

Djokovic, who failed to win a set in three matches during his debut last year at the season-ending event, broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set, leaping high as he pumped his fist.

Davydenko saved two match points while serving at 3-5. Djokovic, serving for the match, smashed an ace to save one break-point at 15-40, but showed some nerves as he followed with a double-fault to hand the game to Davydenko.

Serving at 5-5, the Russian returned the favor, netting a forehand on break-point. Djokovic didn't squander the opportunity, easily holding to finish off the match.

Earlier, Daniel Nestor of Canada and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic beat Americans Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6 (3), 6-2 to win the doubles title and clinch the year-end ATP No. 1 ranking.

The Bryan twins, who were playing for their third title here, held te top ranking and won Olympic bronze at Beijing in August.

"With all the points out there, having it hinge on ... a few points at the end of the season is pretty amazing," Bob Bryan said. "I guess we've got to tip our hat to them. They played a great tournament and had a great year. We look forward to battling it out next year for the same thing."

Nestor and Zimonjic have now beaten the Americans three straight times and went through the tournament here undefeated, taking all three of their round-robin matches and the semifinals.

"To win the Masters Cup – for me for the first time, for Danny to defend the title - to play against the Bryans, who have been dominating the doubles the last four, five years, and to fight for No. 1 spot, you couldn't ask for more as an athlete," said Zimonjic, who won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open in January with China' Sun Tiantian.

This was the final year for the Masters Cup in Shanghai. It will move to London next year, while Shanghai will get the Masters 1,000 event that has been held in Hamburg.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |