Turin [Italy], November 10 : The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will enter the ATP Final event in Turin with an eye on breaking another record.
This season, the Serbian equalled Rafael Nadal's all-time record of 22 men's major singles titles at the Australian Open before blowing past it with victories at Roland Garros and the US Open. He also set a new ATP Masters 1000 record by winning his 39th and 40th championships in Cincinnati and Paris.
If he wins again in Turin this year too Djokovic will win his eighth ATP Finals title, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most wins at the renowned year-end event.
The 24-time major champion is well aware of the records he is attempting to shatter. While honouring the past, he remains focused on the present.
"I try to be a good student of the game and keep track with the numbers, but at the same time, I also want to be able to just direct my attention to the next challenge. As long as I'm an active player, I guess that's going to be the mentality I will nurture," Djokovic was quoted as saying by ATP.
The next challenge will demand every ounce of concentration from the Serbian as he battles with the greatest champions of the 2023 ATP Tour season. After suffering a stomach virus during his Paris title run, Djokovic said he felt better after the final and was excited to move on to Turin.
"Every match is going to be like finals of a big tournament because you play a top-eight player. Every match carries a lot of [Pepperstone ATP Rankings] points, carries a lot of importance," he said of the ATP Finals.
"It's a group-stage format, which we don't get to experience in any other tournament, so even if you lose a match or even two, in a round-robin system you can still go through semis. I had the perfect score in Torino last year, five [wins] out of five matches. I like playing there. I think I connect well with the Italian crowd. I'm going there with good feelings, with a lot of confidence. I haven't lost a match since the Wimbledon final, so I'm really excited to hopefully finish off the season on a high," he added.
He enters Turin with a hard-court record of 33-1 on the season, with his lone setback coming in the Dubai semis against Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic leads the ATP Tour with a 91% victory rate this season, going 51-5. He now sets his attention to winning five more races in Turin, capping off a stellar season.
"My goal is to end up the season on a high note. On the highest note possible," he said.
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