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regular-article-logo Sunday, 29 September 2024

ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic eyes 'Golden Slam' in 2024

36-year-old says he wants a clean sweep of majors next year as well as the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics

Reuters Turin Published 21.11.23, 09:57 AM
Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic. File picture

Novak Djokovic wrapped up his 2023 season by adding the ATP Finals trophy to the three major titles he won this year and the Serb immediately set the bar even higher for next season by targeting a Golden Slam.

Djokovic, who won his seventh ATP Finals on Sunday with a straight-set 6-3, 6-3win over Jannik Sinner, missed out on the grand slam this year, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

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The 36-year-old told reporters in Turin he wanted a clean sweep of the majors next year as well as the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

Steffi Graf is the only player to have achieved the Golden Slam — winning the Australian, French and US Opens, the Wimbledon and a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

“Well, you can win four slams and an Olympic gold,” Djokovic said. “I have always the highest ambitions and goals.

“That’s not going to be different for the next year.

“The drive that I have is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well. I have a great team of people around me. Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in sport, is still present. It still inspires me to keep going.”

The 24-time grand slam winner said he was “very, very proud” of his season. “Four out of five tournaments ... I couldn’t ask for more to be honest,” he added.

“It’s a great reward for what my team and I have been through this year, being one of the most successful years in my career that I’ve ever had.”

The 36-year-old Serb lost to home favourite Sinner earlier in the week in the group stage, but exacted revenge with a sublime display in the final.

A sell-out crowd in Turin’s Pala Alpitour had hoped to cheer the 22-year-old Sinner to the biggest title of his career but Djokovic was simply in a different league.

The world No.1 dropped only two points on serve in the opening set and once he had broken Sinner’s serve in the fourth game it was largely one-way traffic.

At one point Djokovic won 14 points in a row against a player ranked fourth in the world before Sinner briefly slowed his march.

Sinner avoided going a double break of serve down as Djokovic surprisingly failed to make a passing shot and Sinner then had points to break back in the sixth game but could not convert either of them.

Djokovic also failed to convert break points that would have given him a 5-2 lead as a few errors crept into his game.

The crowd tried their best to energise their man but Djokovic moved on towards victory and a Sinner double fault ended the contest.

Djokovic moved past Roger Federer to stand alone as the most successful player in the tournament’s history. His win concludes a year in which he won three of the four grand slam titles and seized back the world No.1 spot from Carlos Alcaraz and worryingly for the chasing pack he will head into 2024 looking as dominant as ever.

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