TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Five-time champion Novak Djokovic reopened his ATP Finals account and beat Casper Ruud 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Monday.
He’s attempting to match Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the elite season-ending event for the top eight players.
In the other group match, Andrey Rublev topped 2018 champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.
Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev won their group singles on Sunday.
After his match, Djokovic was presented with the trophy for finishing the year ranked No. 1, a feat he accomplished for a record seventh time – breaking a tie with childhood idol Pete Sampras.
In an on-court interview, Djokovic recounted how he fell in love with tennis watching Sampras when he was “4 or 5 years old” and asked his dad to buy him a racket.
“Now I’m here and I’ve won this (trophy) seven times, one more than (Sampras) – incredible,” Djokovic told the crowd in Italian. “The dream continues. I hope to play this great sport for a couple of years.”
Later, when asked about his on-court comments, the 34-year-old Djokovic said he doesn’t have a number in mind for how many more years he wants to play.
“I don’t want to impose a limit to myself at all, because I still enjoy playing tennis, and I really enjoy competition and playing at the highest level,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. “Being No. 1 in the world, there is no reason for me yet to think about leaving tennis. I really am in a good place at the moment.”
Following a two-month break after his loss to Medvedev in the U.S. Open final, which ended his pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam, Djokovic returned this month and won the Paris Masters. He’s won six straight matches.
Ruud, a first-time qualifier, broke serve in their opening game when Djokovic fell and dropped his racket as he changed direction to run down a lob. Djokovic managed to pick his racket back up and hit a weak reply but Ruud quickly finished off the point.