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IMAGE: Novak Djokovic poses with a trophy after profitable the boys’s Astana Open ultimate towards Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. {Photograph}: Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters
Novak Djokovic lifted the Astana Open trophy in Kazakhstan, after sealing a cushty 6-3 6-4 victory over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
The Serbian Wimbledon champion prolonged his win streak to 9, wrapping up the ultimate in 75 minutes with out dealing with a break level and booked his place at subsequent month’s ATP Finals.
“I am simply very grateful and blessed to have the ability to play this nicely at this stage of my life,” Djokovic instructed reporters.
It was the fourth title of the yr, for 35-year-old Djokovic and the ninetieth tour-level trophy of his profession.
“Clearly, I did not know the variety of finals I used to be going to play, the variety of tournaments I used to be going to win, however my intention was at all times to succeed in the best heights in our sport,” Djokovic added.
Greek Tsitsipas has now misplaced all 9 ATP 500 finals he has reached.
In the meantime, on the Japan Open, Taylor Fritz beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in a tense ultimate on Sunday and claimed his third title of the yr.
IMAGE: Taylor Fritz with the trophy after profitable the Japan Open. {Photograph}: Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters
The 2 24-year-olds traded breaks within the opening set earlier than the higher consistency of Fritz took him forward within the tiebreak, and he secured it with a cracking forehand, breaking his opponent’s streak of 13 tiebreak wins.
The second set was equally intense as Fritz’s serve proved impenetrable, whereas Tiafoe bravely defended a number of break level probabilities inside Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum.
Within the tiebreak, Fritz raced right into a 6-2 lead with relentless energy and accuracy earlier than sealing victory when Tiafoe’s forehand went out.
Fritz, who will enter the highest 10 on the planet rankings on Monday for the primary time, dropped his racket and let loose a roar after boosting his probabilities to qualify for November’s ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
“It is loopy, and I could not have written it any higher,” he stated after wrapping up the victory in, just below two hours.
“It is precisely what I wanted for the Race, for my rating, to type of, put me in an excellent place for the top of the yr,” he stated.
Fritz, the tenth American to win the Japan Open title and the primary since Pete Sampras in 1996, additionally gained titles in Eastbourne and Indian Wells this yr.
He was in a week-long quarantine in South Korea after contracting COVID-19 and flew to Tokyo on Wednesday, the morning of his first match on the Japan Open.
Tiafoe, Fritz’s Laver Cup teammate, nonetheless awaits his first title this yr however will climb two spots to a career-high seventeenth within the rankings.
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