Djokovic secures record-breaking 7th ATP Finals title
Novak Djokovic ended the year just as he started it — by setting records.
The top-ranked Djokovic won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title on Sunday with a straight-set victory over home favorite Jannik Sinner at Turin, Italy.
Djokovic took 1 hour, 43 minutes to win 6-3, 6-3 as the Serbian continues to reach new heights at the age of 36.
He started 2023 with a recordextending 10th Australian Open title and went on to claim his 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy at the French Open, breaking Rafael Nadal’s mark. Djokovic, who lost the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz, also won the U.S. Open.
“One of the best seasons I’ve had in my life, no doubt,” Djokovic said. “To crown it with a win against a hometown hero in Jannik, who has played amazing tennis this week, is phenomenal.”
Djokovic entered Sunday’s final tied with Roger Federer on six titles at the season-ending tournament for the year’s top eight players.
Djokovic had already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time by winning his opening match at the ATP Finals.Djokovic will become the first player to hold the No. 1 ranking for 400 weeks, with Roger Federer (310) the only other man to eclipse the 300 mark.
ELSEWHERE Yang clinches $2M prize with victory
Amy Yang picked a lucrative time for her first LPGA title on American soil.
Yang birdied her last two holes for a 6-under 66 to win the CME Group Tour Championship at Naples, Fla., and claim the $2 million prize, matching the largest in women’s golf.
Yang finished in style, making a 10-foot birdie putt. The 34-yearold from South Korea dropped her putter and cupped both hands over her face as a half-dozen players charged onto the green and soaked her with so much bubbly she wrapped a towel on her shoulders as she went to sign her card.
Nasa Hataoka closed with a 69 and Alison Lee had a 66 to tie for second.
Lilia Vu, a two-time major champion this year and No. 1 in the women’s world ranking, closed with a 65 to finish alone in fourth.
MLB: Aaron Nola is staying in Philadelphia, after all.
The righthander signed a seven-year contract to remain with the Phillies after testing the freeagent market, the team said Sunday. ESPN and others reported the 30-year-old’s contract is worth $172 million.
“At the outset of this offseason, we made signing Aaron our top priority,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said.
Nola is the first big-name starting pitcher to come off the board among this year’s free agents, a group including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Nola made at least 32 starts and pitched at least 180 2⁄3 innings in five of the last six years — the exception was the pandemicshortened 2020 season. He went 12-9 with a 4.46 ERA in 32 starts with Philadelphia this year.