DJOKOVIC TRIUMPHS
Serbian tennis star newly crowned champ of Rogers Cup,
Moments after closing out his straightsets win over Kei Nishikori, newlycrowned Rogers Cup champ Novak Djokovic saluted fans at the Aviva Centre and tossed his sweaty wristbands into the crowd.
Then the 29-year-old Serbian tennis star entered the stands to hug his coaches and his doubles partner, Nenad Zimonjic.
Minutes later in the trophy ceremony he asked the fans who stuck around to hug the person next to them. Only a handful joined the bonding exercise, but Djokovic wheeled to his left and wrapped the on-court PA announcer in a bear hug.
High-profile withdrawals decimated the Rogers Cup’s lineup. Djokovic was the only player in the world’s top four to show up in Toronto, and a matchup with Canada’s Milos Raonic didn’t materialize, but on Sunday afternoon the 12,500 spectators on hand got what they paid for — clinical brilliance from the world’s top player, who dismantled Nishikori 6-3, 7-5 over 82 minutes. They also got hugs. “I was in a hug myself, so I couldn’t really look at the whole stadium,” said Djokovic, who is now 35-6 all-time at the Rogers Cup. “I did feel that it was just the right moment for me to ask . . . We are all here for the same thing. We are all here to connect through tennis, through passion for the sport, and it’s nice that . . . we got to sense and feel that kind of energy around the stadium.”
Nishikori, the world’s sixth-ranked player, entered with a chance to halt a two-year losing streak against Djokovic. In fact, before this tournament Nishikori had lost16 straight matches to opponents in the top five.
He snapped that streak in toppling fifth-ranked Stan Wawrinka on Saturday afternoon to earn a spot in the final.
But midway through Sunday’s first set it became clear Nishikori couldn’t keep pace with Djokovic, who won his 30th ATP Masters 1000 title and fourth Rogers Cup trophy.
“He raised his level a lot from a couple of days ago,” said Nishikori, who earns $383,690 and 600 tour points for finishing second. “I was hitting some good first serves, but he was making returns deep. He was hitting great returns and I was missing easy ones.”
The result also marked the 19th straight Masters series title won by one of the tour’s top four: Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Three of those players dropped out early last week. Murray withdrew to prepare for the Rio Olympics, while Nadal and Federer skipped the tournament to rehab stubborn injuries.
Their absence left a void Djokovic elevated his game to fill. Even his early-round matches drew large crowds to centre court, and in Saturday’s semifinal a sold-out house saw Djokovic outclass a resurgent Gael Monfils.
On Sunday, spectators saw his best tennis of the tournament, earning breaks in four of Nishikori’s 10 service games. Before the final, Nishiko- ri had won 86 per cent of the Rogers Cup games in which he had served.
Djokovic attributes his steadily improving play to an early exit at Wimbledon, with the extra week off giving him time to regroup, fine-tune, and peak over the second half of the summer.
“As the tournament goes on, I find that proper comfort level with shots, with the way I feel, with mental attitude,” He said. “And the two best performances have arrived in semifinals and finals at the right moment for me.”
Djokovic entered the Rogers Cup leading the ATP money list with $8,476,566. He collected another $782,525 and 1,000 ATP tour points for Sunday’s win.