Novak Djokovic Rolls Over John Millman, Wins in Tokyo

Novak Djokovic won the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo, by defeating John Millman in the finals. The world’s No.1 was pretty ruthless towards the Australian, leaving him five games throughout the entire contest. In the end, it was 6-3, 6-2 for the Serb who debuted with a trophy in Japan.

“It was a fantastic week in every sense,” said Novak. “I felt great on the court, felt really welcome from the Japanese people off the court as well. They made me feel at home. Didn’t drop a set, played really well, served great… overall great experience.”

The Joker had problems with his shoulder injury because of which he didn’t manage to defend the title at the US Open. It seems that now, all that is just a bad memory, as the Serb looked really astonishing on the court over the recent seven days. His movement, shots, return, serve, everything was in place, and even though he didn’t have elite rivals here, it appears that the feels ready for the finish of the season.

Perfect 🔟@DjokerNole captures the 🏆 in a debut for the 10th time in his career, vanquishing Millman 6-3 6-2 to take home the Tokyo hardware.#rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/UaN05FIsuY

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 6, 2019

Djokovic’s quest towards the title here, lasted some 68 minutes in the finals. Already after 15 minutes of play on the court, it was 4-1 for the 16-time Grand Slam champion who completely dictated the tempo and the pace of the game. He routinely executed all of his chances, and was especially convincing with the first serve, posting five aces in the opening sequence alone.

The second set was even easier for the Serb, who had two break points in his pocket after less than 20 minutes of play. There was no way out from this one for Millman. Until the end of the match, the spectators had a chance to see several beautiful and attractive points. After the game, Millman had nothing but praise for his rival, saying that Djokovic truly is one of the best ever, on and off the court.

“It sounds silly to say but I hope everyone all around the world knows how good you are,” said the Aussie. “You’re an absolute champion, and you’re the type of person that is going to be remembered forever.”

Millman also had a fantastic week in Japan. He started the tournament from the qualifications and reached the title game. In the first round, the Australian player saved three match points against Adrian Mannarino and afterward had a joyful ride in Tokyo. Following this tournament, he will have 300 points more on his ATP and $196,590 on his bank account.

He's a quick learner 🇯🇵@DjokerNole #rakutenopen pic.twitter.com/V5xmnh6pas

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 6, 2019

This was Djokovic’s 76 ATP title, 11th on the Asian soil in the same number of finals. He is now just one trophy behind John McEnroe, who has 77 titles, and 8 behind his biggest rival, Rafael Nadal. However, he isn’t pressured by those numbers. What he wants is to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year, and he already told the spectators that he hopes seeing them again following summer.

Right now, the first goal for the world No.1 is to stay in that position until the end of the year and to hold on as much as possible. If he finishes 2018 on the top spot of the ATP rankings, he will be the only player alongside Pete Sampras to be the No.1 at the end of the season six times.

Now, the second mission is to surpass Roger Federer, who’s been No.1 for 310 weeks. Djokovic is currently in his 272nd week of reign, and in between is Sampras with 286. The way the Serb plays, this is something pretty realistic, especially because he has at least two or three more years of top tennis in his body if the injuries pass by him.

The next big tournament is the Rolex Masters in Shanghai.