Novak Djokovic beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-4 in the final of Tel Aviv Open to clinch his first title since winning Wimbledon in July and 89th of his career. With this win, the twenty-one-time Grand Slam champion, who already won three titles this season, is now the first man to triumph in a tour-level title on every surface this year—Rome Open on clay, Wimbledon champions on grass and Tel Aviv on hard courts.
“My approach is to win tournaments wherever I am and I’m glad that I have a team of people around me that makes sure that I am in the best shape in order to be a contender to win titles,” Djokovic said. “That’s why I came to Israel, was to try to win the title. First time playing here [since a] Davis Cup tie more than 15 years ago, so it was a really amazing experience.” More news and tennis today here!
He added: “I played some very good tennis, I think. I [didn’t] drop a set the entire week. I hadn’t played a tournament in three months, so it was really extra motivation for me to really do well, particularly because people have been so friendly and so supportive of me throughout the week. I’m taking some great confidence into next week as well.” It was Djokovic’s 19th win over Cilic in 21 meetings.
In the final against Croatia’s Cilic, the World No. 7 took an early lead against Cilic by breaking the Croat’s serve in the second game and bagging the first set with a fourth ace after 47 minutes on court. The 34-year-old Cilic lost his serve in the first game of the second set and was unable to regain control for the rest of that set. Djokovic only faced one breakpoint during the match, which he won in 94 minutes.
The 35-year-old, who played his 127th career final, has won 20 of his last 21 official matches. His only loss came by the hands of rival Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, while in an event last week, the Serb lost to Canadian Felix-Auger Aliassime in straight sets at the Laver Cup, where his Team Europe were dethroned by Team World. He will now go to the next ATP 500 Astana Open.
Elsewhere, Marc-Andrea Huesler beat fifth seed Holger Rune 6-4 7-6 (10-8) to win his first ATP Tour title in the final of the Sofia Open, his maiden singles final. Yoshihito Nishioka earned beat Denis Shapovalov 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in Seoul Open, while the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova ended Anett Kontaveit’s 24-match winning run on indoor hard courts by winning WTA Tallinn Open 6-2 6-3.
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