Rome, Nov 12 (EFE) – Serbian Novak Djokovic will finish 2023 as number one for the eighth time in his career, extending his own record, after beating the Dane Holger Rune on the first day of the ATP Finals in Turin with 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1) and 6-3 in a duel that lasted more than three hours.
Only a triple defeat in the group stage of this prestigious tournament, which brings together the eight best players on the circuit, and an undefeated Carlos Alcaraz could relegate the Serb to second place and push the Spaniard to the top.
It will be Djokovic’s eighth consecutive year as world number one, extending his own record as the player with the most No. 1 rankings in history and the most weeks at the top of the rankings.
The man from Belgrade, the current “Master”, is the oldest player to have won the ATP Finals and the oldest in this edition, where he will be competing against young twenty-somethings such as Alcaraz, Italy’s Jannik Sinner, and Denmark’s Holger Rune.
Already on Friday in Turin, Alcaraz gave up his chance to repeat as number one, where he finished in 2022, at the end of this season.
“The fight for number one was the main goal and I practically lost it. I will try to turn this to my advantage because I will not think about it.” the young Spaniard said.
“I will make my debut at the ATP Finals. and I will enjoy it as much as possible. It is a gift to be here, although obviously, I have earned it,” he added.
Djokovic, for his part, has achieved his main goal of “finishing the season as the world number one,” the Serb said on Friday, adding that “of course, I would like to win the tournament.” EFE
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