PARIS — Novak Djokovic wrapped up his 2023 season by adding the ATP Finals trophy to the three major titles he won this year and the Serb immediately set the bar even higher for next season by targeting a ‘Golden Slam’.
Djokovic, who won his seventh ATP Finals with a straight set win over Jannik Sinner, missed out on Grand Slam this year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
The 36-year-old told reporters in Turin he wanted a clean sweep of the majors next year as well as the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Steffi Graf is the only player to have achieved the ‘Golden Slam’, winning the Australian, French and US Opens, Wimbledon and a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
“Well, you can win four slams and an Olympic gold,” Djokovic said. “I have always the highest ambitions and goals. That’s not going to be different for the next year.
“The drive that I have is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well. I have a great team of people around me.
“Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in sport, is still present. It still inspires me to keep going.”
The 24-times Grand Slam winner said he was “very, very proud” of his season.
“Four out of five tournaments … I couldn’t ask for more to be honest,” he added according to Reuters.
“It’s a great reward for what my team and I have been through this year, being one of the most successful years in my career that I’ve ever had.”
“One of the best seasons I´ve had in my life, no doubt,” Djokovic said after the winning according to AP. “To crown it with a win against a hometown hero in Jannik, who has played amazing tennis this week, is phenomenal.”
Djokovic entered the final tied with Roger Federer on six titles at the season-ending tournament for the year´s top eight players.
And he stretched out his arms and beamed broadly after clinching his seventh when Sinner double-faulted.
The victory had echoes of the clinical way Djokovic dispatched second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in semi-final encounter.
“I´m very proud of the performances these last two days against Alcaraz and Sinner, probably the best two players in the world next to me and Medvedev at the moment, and the way they have been playing I had to step it up,” Djokovic said.
“I had to win the matches and not wait for them to hand me the victory and that´s what I´ve done. I think I tactically played different today than I have in the group stage against Jannik, and just overall it was a phenomenal week.”
It was his fourth win over Sinner, who had recorded a first-ever victory against Djokovic in the group stage in Turin and was the first Italian to reach the final.
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