Novak Djokovic has put his off-court distractions to one side to win a record-equalling 35th Masters 1000 title with victory over Milos Raonic at the Western & Southern Open.
There was a victory on Saturday for Australian star Alex de Minaur, who celebrated a 6-2 7-5 success with Spanish partner Pablo Carreno Busta.
In their debut event together, they accounted for British pair Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski as they wrapped up their lead-in event for the US Open.
World No.1 Djokovic is the leading figure in the proposed formation of the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) – a breakaway men’s player union to rival the ATP Player Council – and there is set to be a vote this weekend on whether it moves forward.
Djokovic, who has also suffered with neck and stomach injuries during the week, looked like he would allow things to get the better of him as Raonic steamed through the first set, but the Serbian came back to win 1-6 6-3 6-4 in New York.
The Serb – the only player to have competed the Career Golden Masters – extended his undefeated record this season to 23-0 to equal Nadal’s record of 35 Masters 1000 titles wins.
Djokovic will be the man to beat when play commences at Flushing Meadows in 48 hours to begin the first major of 2020.
“I am proud of this achievement, especially the last three, four days I struggled a little bit with my physical condition but I managed to win this one through,” Djokovic said.
Given the fact that it took a Herculean effort to get through Friday’s semi-final against Roberto Bautista Agut, where Djokovic suffered from an upset stomach, plus the off-court issues, it looked like it might be Raonic’s afternoon.
The Canadian, on the way back after injury problems saw his ranking plummet, took the opening set in just 31 minutes.
But Djokovic came to life in the second set and a vital break of Raonic’s monster serve in the sixth game allowed him to level up.
There is a reason why Djokovic has now won all 11 matches against the Canadian and he completely negated Raonic’s delivery, claiming successive breaks to grab the decisive final set.
