Djokovic has let his tennis do the talking at the ATP Finals in Turin, opening his challenge with statement wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, shifting to warrior mode to overcome Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz, and finally outclassing Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 to equal Roger Federer’s record haul of six titles at the season-ending showpiece.

Djokovic, 35, also eclipsed the Swiss as the oldest winner in the event’s history and, as an undefeated champion, pocketed a cheque for $4.7m, the biggest payday in the sport’s history. 

More importantly, though, this was a victory that brought Djokovic full circle. Having started the year as the undisputed world No 1 before sliding down the ladder as the consequences of his refusal to take a Covid vaccine took hold, the Serb ended it with a reaffirmation of his top-dog status – and never mind what the rankings, or his detractors, might say. 

Ranked fifth, Djokovic now stands exactly 2,000 points behind the top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz – the very same number he would have collected for his seventh Wimbledon victory, had the ATP not stripped the tournament of ranking points. 

Earlier this week, Djokovic told Italian reporters that criticism of the reasoning offered for his “my body, my choice” stance on vaccination, which led to his controversial deportation from Australia in January and later cost him the chance to compete at the US Open, has made him feel freedom of speech has become “an illusion”. What has not been illusory, in a year of unprecedented if largely self-inflicted upheaval, is his enduring excellence. 

Djokovic has lost just once in 19 matches since Wimbledon, his defeat to Holger Rune in the Paris Masters final the only blemish on a run that has brought titles in Tel Aviv and Astana to go with the sixth Rome Masters crown he won in May. His season’s tally of five tournament wins has been equalled only by Alcaraz. The Serb refused to declare himself the best player in the world, however.

“I’m not, I’m fifth,” said Djokovic. “The rankings show who had the best year, and Alcaraz is the No 1 in the world. 

“But in my mind, I always see myself as the best player in the world, of course. I have that kind of mentality and that kind of approach. Regardless of who is across the net, regardless of what the surface is, regardless of what season it is, what number of the professional season in my career we’re facing, it’s always the same. 

“The ambitions are as high as possible. That kind of approach, I feel it brought me to where I am, sitting here today as a 35-year-old, holding one of the biggest trophies in the sport. 

“I’m very hungry to prove that I’m still one of the best players in the world, that I can win big trophies.”

That hunger was evident against Ruud, who made life difficult for Djokovic in the early stages but was ultimately unable to avoid another disappointing addition to a back catalogue that includes defeats in this season’s Miami Open, Roland Garros and US Open finals. 

Ruud struggled to find his first serve initially and was forced to fend off two break points in his opening service game. Once the Norwegian found his rhythm, though, he matched Djokovic step for step. Both men would finish the set with an 86% success rate behind their first serves, yet it was always Djokovic, who did not face a break point throughout, that made the more serene progress.

“His serve is one of the best,” said Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic. “People, they don’t talk [about it], because they have so many other things [to admire], they forget. 

“He has one of the best serves. Especially when it’s tight, it’s tough, especially this week, he was hitting unbelievable serves under pressure.”

Further signs of the physical frailty that first surfaced during Friday’s gruelling three-set win over Medvedev made the need for such excellence all the greater. Holding his temples and towelling himself furiously at the changeovers, Djokovic looked almost disconsolate at times. Any encouragement Ruud might have drawn from his opponent’s plight was tempered, however, by the need to defend a third break point at 3-4, which the 23-year-old duly managed with a clever change of pace on serve.

As against Fritz in the previous round, it was Djokovic’s ability to raise his game at the key moments that proved decisive. With Ruud serving to stay in the opener at 30-15, a scorching forehand winner from Djokovic afforded a glimmer of opportunity that grew brighter when the Serb successfully challenged an unreturnable first serve. Two perfectly measured rallies followed, Djokovic twice drawing errors from Ruud’s weaker backhand side, and the set was over. 

More immaculate ball-striking secured a break in the fourth game of the second set, at which point Ruud’s race was effectively run.

“It’s been disappointing to end up losing these big finals,” he said. “[But] if you gave me an offer to end the year at No 3, play the finals that I’ve played, [on] the first of January this year, I would probably have signed the contract right away.

“Definitely very happy with the year all in all.”

Given his chaotic start to the season, Djokovic could hardly say the same. Yet, having won a 21st grand slam title and gone undefeated at the ATP Finals for the fourth time in his career, he has every reason to be confident that he can renew his assault on the record books next year.

“Why not try it? Why not dream about it?” said Djokovic, who can dream all the more freely for having been cleared to play at January’s Australian Open, where he is a nine-time champion. 

“I have no problem to verbalise that I have biggest goals, that I want to be the best, that I want to win every tournament.

“So see you in Australia.”

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Still feeling the aftereffects of a gruelling battle with Daniil Medvedev 24 hours earlier, Djokovic eked all he could from his depleted reserves of energy to prevail 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) against Taylor Fritz, the American world No 9, and reach the title round at the ATP Finals for an eighth time. Djokovic will face Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final after the Norwegian third seed brushed aside Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in the second semi-final.

Having started the week in majestic form, the Serb has been forced to delve ever deeper into his repertoire to maintain his pursuit of the sixth title he needs to equal Roger Federer’s record. 

Doubled up and trembling midway through his duel with Medvedev, even he must have wondered how he would pull up against Fritz. In the event, the 35-year-old emerged heavy of leg but sufficiently sharp of wit to navigate a contest in which he struggled to pull clear after securing an early break in the first set, then struggled to keep up after suffering an early break in the second.

“I like the fact that I was able to win against Medvedev after a very long battle, then come back the next day after not too much time for recovery [and] be able to win another tight match against Fritz in two sets,” said Djokovic, who appeared to suffer a dizzy spell at the end of the first set. 

“That’s something that has in a way defined my career over the years. I’ve had similar situations where I was able to bounce back and really make some big wins.

“I did feel heavy with my legs a little bit, a bit more than any of the past days of the week. I knew that coming into the match that I will not be freshest, but that I will have to find a way differently to adjust my game, to the lack of reactivity on the court today. 

“I just felt that, tennis-wise, I was not hitting the ball as cleanly as I have throughout the week. That’s also due to the heavier legs, less reactivity time. 

“At the same time, I think that these kind of wins [have] double value, because you’re not feeling great… but you still manage to win against a great player.”

As Fritz served to level the match, Djokovic was helped on his way by a spectator who cried out just as the American was lining up a short ball that would have given him a set point. Would it have made a difference? Perhaps not, given that Djokovic measured his shots to perfection in the two extended rallies either side of that moment. Yet Fritz was understandably aggrieved. 

“I don’t know what to say,” said Fritz. “I think that’s what makes it even more frustrating. It’s like, you know, I kind of got screwed and there’s nothing that really can be done about it.

“You get used to playing in absolute silence your whole career. It’s normal that the crowd maybe makes a noise when there’s a crazy point going on. You expect it, you’re ready for it. 

“But someone just flat-out screaming to purposely try to throw you off, it’s not something you’re ever used to. When it happens, it’s an absolute shock. It’s disgusting then.”

Once the immediate disappointment subsides, however, Fritz will be able to reflect with satisfaction on an unexpectedly rewarding week. Promoted from first alternate after Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the season-ending finals with an abdominal injury, the 25-year-old debutant has capped a memorable year with wins over Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime, victories to will rank alongside his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and first grand slam quarter-final at Wimbledon. 

Ruud too has enjoyed an unforgettable season. After reaching finals at Roland Garros and the US Open, where defeat to Alcaraz cost him the chance to claim the No 1 ranking, the 23-year-old capitalised on a dominant start against Rublev to carve out a 6-2, 6-4 win.

“Things were going so well for me, almost too well at some point, because I was winning [so] many games in a row,” said Ruud. “At 6-2, 4-0, we had played maybe around 50 minutes or something. I didn’t imagine I would be in that situation.”

That feeling was no doubt shared by Rublev. It was a wretched night for the Russian, who once again suffered an early implosion, just as he had done in his final group match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but was unable to recover from a set down for a second night in a row. Rublev’s problems began in the fifth game, when he dropped serve from 40-15 up with four consecutive unforced errors. 

“I started quite well,” said Rublev, who fought back from 4-0 down in the second set to make a match of it after breaking down in tears at one point. 

“When I lost my serve, I started to rush a bit. I was trying to play aggressive, rushing. I started to miss more and more.  

“When the match was almost done, when I managed to relax a bit and I was [able to] keep playing aggressive, but I was not rushing, I managed to start to play better. It was too late.  He was too good.”

Whether Ruud will be too good for Djokovic remains to be seen. The Norwegian has lost all three of his previous meetings with the former world No 1.

“I know that I will need to come up with something I have not done yet against him, because I haven’t been able to beat him,” said Ruud. “It’s not going to be easy, obviously, but I will give it my best shot.”

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On Friday night, Rublev put the finishing touches to an answer that began four days earlier with a tenacious three-set win over Daniil Medvedev. Outgunned by Stefanos Tsitsipas for a set, the 25-year-old assiduously worked his way back into the contest before putting the pedal to the metal in the decider to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. 

What is Rublev doing here? Demonstrating his mental toughness and ability to fight. Showing that he has the belief to go further after reaching six grand slam quarter-finals and cementing his place in the world’s top 10. Reaching the biggest semi-final of his career, where he will have the chance to avenge a round-robin defeat to Casper Ruud at last year’s finals, the only blemish on his record against the Norwegian in five meetings.

Proving, in short, that his place at the game’s top table is merited.

It might seem odd that such evidence should be required from a player with 51 tour-level wins this season. Yet Rublev has often been his own worst enemy, his emotional nature and readiness to castigate himself over the slightest mistake blocking the path to greater success. It is barely two months since the Muscovite, who has spoken with disarming honesty of his struggles, broke down in tears in the latter stages of a straight-sets defeat to Frances Tiafoe at the US Open.

“Everyone has their own weaknesses,” said Rublev at last month’s Astana Open. “My weakness is mental, [but] little by little there are some improvements.”

An early sign of those improvements came two in the third round at Flushing Meadows, when Rublev fought back from two sets to one down to beat Denis Shapovalov in a fifth-set tiebreak. 

“[Before] I would already explode and because of that lose the match,” said Rublev. “But even in the moment it looks impossible to [maintain composure], I was able to do it. It was giving me a turning moment and I was able to win the match.” 

There have been similar turning points in Turin, where Rublev overcame the disappointment of missing seven set points in the first set against Medvedev – and four match points in the decider – to triumph 9-7 in the climactic tiebreak. 

He showed comparable fortitude against Tsitsipas. For a set, the Greek second seed allowed Rublev no breathing space, conceding just two points on serve and making no unforced errors.

A disastrous service game at 1-2 showcased the best and the worst of Rublev, who raced to a 40-0 lead behind three huge first serves only to shoot himself in the foot with a pair of double faults, a smattering of forehand errors and a troubling inability to make inroads behind a second serve that has too often proved his undoing.

The Russian expressed his frustration by slamming his racket into the ground and casting an agonised glance towards his box. With Tsitsipas unrelenting in his commitment to attack, the conditions looked ripe for a Rublev meltdown, particularly when he was outrallied twice in quick succession to fall 0-30 behind at the start of the second set. 

Instead, Rublev recovered to hold with some monstrous ball-striking, kept his head down and his emotions in check, and claimed a deserved break in the eighth game. That proved enough to take the set and, as his confidence grew, so too did his ability to make an impression on the Tsitsipas serve. A break in the third game of the decider effectively sealed the Greek’s fate as Rublev, rifling winners from the baseline and increasingly commanding on serve, ran out a convincing winner.

“I didn’t give up,” said Rublev. “I kept fighting and playing. I lost my emotions a bit when I lost a stupid game at 40-0 in the first set. I let my emotions go. 

“But then I just kept fighting and playing. I thought I would have chances if I just gave my best. I managed to turn the match around.”

While Rublev demonstrated his mettle, Tsitsipas showed an absence of grace and humility that will do little to aid his quest for a title commensurate with his undoubted talent. The Greek began the week in the knowledge that an unbeaten run could propel him to the No 1 ranking. He departs Turin with nothing more notable than an unseemly and unbecoming dig at the relative merits of his opponent.

“I didn’t really feel threatened,” said Tsitsipas, the champion of three years ago. “It’s a shame. I feel like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. 

“I felt like I could just be much more creative. I don’t even have to say that. I think it’s quite obvious.  

“He prevailed with the few tools that he has. He was able to really take advantage of them and win today.”

Tsitsipas undoubtedly has formidable options at his disposal but, for an Athenian, his grasp of hubris appears surprisingly limited.

The contrast with Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, who fought an epic battle over three hours and 11 minutes despite having nothing to play for beyond pride, points and prize money, could hardly have been more pointed.

“The biggest battle, as I’ve said before, is always the inner battle,” said Djokovic, who had qualified for the last four with emphatic victories over Tsitsipas and Rublev long before facing the already-eliminated Medvedev.

“There is no secret potion or one way to success. I feel it’s always important to have an open mind, open ears, open eyes, and learn from every experience hoping that you can use certain lessons that you learned for the next time to be better and to maybe avoid big oscillations.”

It is a lesson that Rublev, modest to a fault, has learned well – and it may yet carry him to his most significant prize.

“I don’t know if I have few tools or not,” said Rublev on learning of Tsitsipas’s remarks. “If we go shot by shot, I think his backhand is better than mine. His forehand is not better than mine. The speed serve is not better than mine. 

“Obviously he’s a better player, because he’s higher ranked and he achieved better results. It’s obvious. There is no doubt.  

“But I don’t think that I beat him because of few tools. If you take our match, every match, we have tough battles. This year I lost to him twice in three sets, and now I beat him in three sets. We always have tough matches.”

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It took the 25-year-old Californian 10 months to achieve his initial goal of breaking into the top 10 for the first time, after which he set his sights on securing a place at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. An early loss at the Paris Masters appeared to dash those hopes, consigning him to the role of first alternate, and so Fritz retreated to Switzerland with his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, for a well-earned break. 

Once again, though, there would be an 11th-hour breakthrough: Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 1, withdrew from the finals with an abdominal injury, opening the door for Fritz to make his debut at the elite eight-man event. 

Among the many lessons the American will take away from a season that has brought a first Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells as well as titles in Eastbourne and Tokyo, a recognition that good things come to those who wait will be among the more memorable.

It therefore came as no surprise that, with a place in the semi-finals at stake in a winner-takes-all showdown with fellow debutant Felix Auger-Aliassime, Fritz was content to bide his time. 

For two and a half hours, the pair served each other to a standstill in the quick conditions at the Pala Alpitour. With neither man able to fashion a break point, Fritz capitalised on a spate of unforced errors from his opponent to secure the opener on a tiebreak, while Auger-Aliassime grasped the nettle in the second-set breaker, conjuring two heavy forehands from 5-5 to draw level. 

But in the fifth game of the decider, the same wing betrayed the fifth-seeded Canadian, an unforced error handing Fritz his first opportunity to break. A timid return from the American saw the chance go begging but, as Auger-Aliassime continued to rack up forehand errors, some fine defending on the stretch finally got Fritz over the line at the fourth time of asking. Auger-Aliassime did not win another game, Fritz sealing a 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 victory. Once again, his patience was rewarded.

“If you play a bad game, you get broken, you’re probably going to lose the set. That’s just how it is. You can’t afford to have throwaway games on the serve,” said Fritz, who will play Novak Djokovic in Saturday’s semi-finals. 

“I think that was probably my biggest issue against Casper [Ruud, a three-set winner over Fritz on Tuesday] a couple of days ago: the first game I served. I kind of just gave it to him. You can’t do that. Holding serve by far is the most important thing on this court, holding serve and returning.”

Fritz, the world No 9, did that to perfection against Auger-Aliassime, winning 88% of his first serve points and fending off the only three break points he faced, all of which came in the second set. Those missed opportunities were a body blow to the ambitions of the sixth-ranked Canadian, who leaves Turin with only a first win over Rafael Nadal to show for his efforts, having lost his opener against Casper Ruud in straight sets.

“I had chances in the second set,” mused Auger-Aliassime, whose outstanding form over the indoor season has brought titles in Florence, Antwerp and Basel as well as a place in the top 10. 

“I had a clear chance on a return. Probably would have helped to win that set not in the tiebreak the way I did.

“After the third set, bad choices, bad execution in some parts. Maybe I lost the focus a little bit.”

That is not a luxury Fritz will be able to afford against Djokovic, certainly not if he is to prolong his record of going on to claim the title on the three occasions he has reached a semi-final this year. The Serb, who has been in magisterial form so far this week, has won all five of their previous meetings.

Earlier in the day, Rafael Nadal ended his season on a positive note, defeating Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-5 to earn his first victory at the finals and break a run of four consecutive defeats.

“It’s about finishing the season with a victory,” said Nadal, who will play a series of exhibition matches against Ruud in South America and Mexico before his thoughts turn to the defence of his Australian Open title. 

“It’s about seeing myself competitive against a great player with chances of victory. 

“It’s about having the personal satisfaction that, after a couple of very tough days, I went yesterday on the practice courts and made a very good practice with the right attitude.

“Today was a good level of tennis for me, serving well, playing with more determination at the right moments. Now is the moment to back home couple of days, then a tour in Latina America.”

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After a troubled season, Djokovic is finally in a good place. Cheered on by his wife Jelena and their two children, Stefan and Tara, who chose a good moment to watch their father play a complete match for the first time, Djokovic delivered what he described as a “flawless” second-set performance. The Serb is playing with an authority and assurance that augurs well for his bid to equal Roger Federer’s record of six wins at the season-ending showpiece.

Better yet, he has been given the green light to compete at the Australian Open after his three-year visa ban was overturned by the Labor government. Djokovic, who was deported from Australia in January over fears that he might be “perceived by some as a talisman of a community of anti-vaccine sentiment” because of his refusal to be inoculated against Covid, was informed of the decision on Tuesday.

Uplifted by the reprieve, Djokovic, who would draw level with Rafael Nadal on 22 grand slams were he to win a 10th title at Melbourne Park, admitted he had an extra spring in his step ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Rublev. That was bad news for the Russian, who matched the former world No 1 step for step until the 10th game of the match only to suffer a momentary loss of concentration – after which he won just one more game.

“It was a relief, obviously, knowing what I and people closest to me in my life have been through this year with what happened in Australia, and post-Australia,” said Djokovic, whose unvaccinated status also prevented him from entering the US for the sunshine swing and the US Open. 

“I could not receive better news, for sure – during this tournament as well. Did it affect my game today? I would like to believe it did. 

“Knowing that I have clarity now, what I do in the off-season, starting the season in Australia, also of course did relieve some of the pressure me and my team felt. Just giving that clarity makes it great for us.  

“The Australian Open has been my most successful grand slam. I made some of the best memories there. Of course, I want to go back there, I want to play tennis, do what I do best, hopefully have a great Australian summer.”

While it remains to be seen how Djokovic will be received by the Australian public following his unsuccessful attempt to fight the revocation of his visa in the federal court, the 35-year-old’s relatively light schedule this year should ensure he goes into next season in good fettle.

“The upside of not playing many tournaments is that you’re going to be fresher than when you’re playing a lot more,” said Djokovic. 

“At the same time, it was a very unusual year for me in terms of my season. I missed some big tournaments, two out of four slams.  

“To be able to play as well I am playing in the last few months is something I’m very thankful for and I worked hard for, because I had more time to train, to practise.”

Djokovic will face Daniil Medvedev in his final Red Group match on Friday with only points and prize money at stake for both men. Medvedev, the world No 5, was eliminated after losing a final-set tiebreak for a second successive match as Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek second seed, prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (9-11), 7-6 (7-1) in the battle of former champions. 

The Russian, who came out on the wrong end of a similarly epic tussle with Rublev on the opening day in Turin, fought back from three match points down in the second-set to lead 5-3 in the decider. Tsitsipas, however, came storming back to consign Medvedev to his seventh consecutive defeat against a top-10 player.

“It means I was not good enough, and I have to be better,” said Medvedev. 

Tsitsipas, who won the title in London on his debut in 2019, will meet Rublev on Friday to decide who advances from the group alongside Djokovic.

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In one sense, the comparison could not be more accurate. Then, as now, Nadal’s losing sequence spanned the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, events that are contested on quick indoor surfaces unsuited to his game, and held at a time of year when he is traditionally at his lowest ebb physically. It is no coincidence that two of his most notable periods of struggle have come at this point in the season, even if they are 13 years apart. 

Yet, for that very reason, it would be foolhardy to interpret Nadal’s recent travails as evidence of decline. Yes, he is 36 now. Yes, his four losses have come against Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz and Auger-Aliassime, all (to a greater or lesser degree) rising talents aged 25 or under. And yes, he has at times looked off the pace physically over the past fortnight. But this is not a changing-of-the-guard moment. It is hard to see how Nadal can be in crisis after four matches when, five matches ago, he was still on course to complete an unbeaten season at the majors. Age hasn’t caught up with him overnight.

What has caught up with him, as he has repeatedly emphasised, is inactivity. The Spaniard’s meeting with Auger-Aliassime was only his ninth competitive match since Wimbledon, where he tore an abdominal muscle and was forced to withdraw from his semi-final against Nick Kyrgios. Nadal suffered a recurrence of the injury the week before the US Open, where he was beaten in the fourth round by Tiafoe, and his subsequent involvement at Roger Federer’s Laver Cup farewell was limited by the need to be with his wife, Mery, who gave birth to the couple’s first child last month after a difficult pregnancy. 

“Six tough months in all ways,” said Nadal. “When you are facing all the circumstances that I faced the last six months, [just to] be here is positive.

“I was able to play two tournaments in the last three weeks. That’s the positive thing, something that I was not able to do for a while.

“I don’t think I forgot how to play tennis, how to be strong enough mentally. I just need to recover all the positive feelings and all the confidence and the strong mentality that I need to be at the level I want to be.”

There has been little chance to recover those feelings in Turin, where the quick conditions have played into the big-serving hands of Fritz and Auger-Aliassime, denying him time and sapping the venom from his groundstrokes. It is hard to play catch-up when your rivals are moving at breakneck speed.  

Yet some perspective is necessary. Nadal’s recent travails might echo the final weeks of 2009, but they are merely a footnote to a season that, taken as a whole, bears a closer resemblance to 2010, his annus mirablis. That was the year Nadal triumphed at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and, most memorably, the US Open, where he completed a career grand slam and became the first man to win three consecutive majors since Rod Laver in 1969. It was also part of a 25-match winning streak at the majors that continued all the way to the quarter-finals of the following year’s Australian Open, where a knee injury forced him to retire against Andy Murray, ending his hopes of a “Rafa Slam”. 

Nadal’s 22-match unbeaten sequence at the majors this season, which encompassed victories at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, five wins at Wimbledon and a run to the last 16 in New York, represents his best return since. Arguably it is even better, given his age and the fact that his two slam wins this year have taken his tally to 22, hauling him one clear of Novak Djokovic – for the time being at least – as the most successful male player in history. 

Equally remarkable is the way Nadal has persistently defied injury. In the weeks preceding the Australian Open, he feared the chronic foot problem that has afflicted him since youth might end his career for good. Instead, he went on to win his first title at Melbourne Park since 2009, part of a 20-match winning streak that lasted until March, when he was finally beaten by Fritz in the Indian Wells final after sustaining a rib fracture. 

As he raced to recover in time for the French Open, the pain in Nadal’s foot returned with a vengeance, necessitating daily anaesthetic injections throughout the fortnight. He nonetheless left Paris with a 14th title, avenging his loss to Djokovic the previous year and dismissing Casper Ruud in the final for the loss of just six games. No wonder Ruud, seeded third in Turin, refused to get carried away by suggestions from Fritz and Auger-Aliassime that he has the beating of the Spaniard.

“You can never feel comfortable playing against Rafa, no matter what form he is in or what shape,” said the Norwegian, who will face Nadal in his final group match. 

“I’m sure he would like to seek some sort of revenge for his two losses and finish his ATP season in a good way.” 

That much is not in doubt. If Nadal has demonstrated anything this year, it is that his appetite for the game and ability to overcome adversity remain undiminished. In time, age, injuries and fatherhood may change that. Four straight losses, at the end of a season that has evoked memories of his peak, will not. Nadal had barely shaken hands with Auger-Aliassime before he was looking ahead to next year. 

“Tomorrow starts my 2023 season,” he said. “That’s all. The only thing that I can do is keep working, keep doing the things that I need to do to give myself a chance to start with real chances in 2023.

“I don’t know if I going to reach that level again. But what I don’t have any doubt [about is] that I’m going to die for it.”

He is not done yet.

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Tsitsipas opened his Red Group campaign in the knowledge that an undefeated run to a second title at the season-ending championships would propel him to the top of the world rankings for the first time. Instead, the Greek was roundly put in his place by Djokovic, who is ranked eighth and seeded seventh, but looked every inch the de facto No 1 as he claimed a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win that was often inspired and never less than excellent. 

Twelve months ago, as Djokovic clinched the year-end No 1 position for a record seventh time, deserved reward for a season in which he narrowly failed to become only the third man in history to complete a calendar-year grand slam, no one could have foreseen that he would return to Turin at his lowest ranking in four years. Neither would many have imagined that, despite an underwhelming showing at the majors, Tsitsipas would enter the season’s final turn with a chance to claim top spot.

Yet Djokovic’s refusal to take a Covid vaccine left him unable to defend his Australian and US Open titles, while the ATP’s decision to strip Wimbledon of points, made in response to the tournament’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players, meant that the Serb’s seventh victory in SW19 gained him no advantage in the rankings.

Tsitsipas, meanwhile, has accumulated more match wins this year than any other player, yet failed to survive the first week at Wimbledon, where his composure deserted him against Nick Kyrgios, and failed to survive his first match at the US Open, where his game deserted him against Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan. Throw in the fact that Tsitsipas had lost his previous eight meetings with Djokovic, and there was clearly much riding on the outcome for both men. 

Could Tsitsipas get the statement win that would lend credibility to his bid for top-dog status? Would Djokovic be able to shrug off the unaccustomed indignity of entering the arena first, as is the lot of the lower-ranked player, and lay down an early marker in his attempt to equal Roger Federer’s haul of six ATP Finals titles? Above all, would the contest bear comparison with their electric semi-final meeting nine days ago at the Paris Masters, where Tsitsipas stood just three points from victory in the final-set tiebreak?

In hindsight, the answer to the last of those questions was apparent more quickly than anyone suspected at the time, for the match was effectively over from the moment Tsitsipas netted an off-forehand to concede his opening service game. Djokovic is an unrivalled frontrunner and, when he conjured a majestic angled dink en route to consolidating the break, he flashed a conspiratorial grin towards his box. They all knew he was on to something. 

So it proved. Serving with trademark precision and consistency, the five-time champion navigated the remainder of the set without facing a break point. He remained impregnable on serve all the way to the second-set tiebreak, where he stole an early march with a stunning backhand pass, delivered at full stretch and with Tsitsipas bearing down on the net behind a fine backhand approach. There would be no way back for the Greek. 

“I started off the match very well,” said Djokovic. “With the big servers like him, you maybe have a good chance in the first or second service game of your opponent to get some opportunities. That was the case. It was presented to me. I was really sharp and focused. I used the chance. 

“Obviously, that affects the whole game. Even if it’s the first game, I knew it was on his mind. I just wanted to be consistent and keep serving well, which I did. I closed out the match in the tiebreak with the two big serves, which always helps. 

“I managed to read his serve in the tiebreak when I needed to. I made some great passing shots. It was a match decided by small margins.”

That appraisal was echoed by Tsitsipas – “The issue was starting that first game lousy and not getting into the match, picking up very late,” he said – but the Greek suggested he is in no hurry to reach No 1.  

“I deeply believe that I can reach that spot one day,” said Tsitsipas. “I’m not really that much in a rush. 

“Of course, it would have been better if it happened this week. I am more here for the marathon of all. I see the bigger picture, the longer run. I have a lot of opportunities next year to play some good tennis. 

“If it comes, I’ll be very happy, my country will be very happy, my family will be happy.  I just have to concentrate on myself, let that thing pass. If it happens, that’s great news. But I shouldn’t be obsessing too much about it.”

While Djokovic offered an emphatic reminder of his credentials as a past world No 1, and Tsitsipas’s climb to the summit ended before the first staging post, a notable feature of Daniil Medvedev’s season has been his struggle to live up to the ranking he inherited from the Serb in late February. 

Medvedev, who topped the standings for a total of 16 weeks until he was supplanted by Carlos Alcaraz after the US Open, has not looked quite the same since losing January’s Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal from two sets to love up. Normally one of the tour’s most consistent performers, the Russian has won just two titles this season. 

If that is indicative of a psychological hangover from events at Melbourne Park, however, an opening match against compatriot Andrey Rublev promised to be the perfect restorative. Medvedev had prevailed in all but one of their five previous meetings, and when he fought back from 5-2 down to take the opening set, saving seven set points along the way, it looked likely that history would repeat itself. 

But Rublev, a combustible character whose reputation for letting his frustration get the better of him precedes him, seemed determined to prove that his lone victory over Medvedev, achieved last year in Cincinnati, was no fluke. Sticking to the formula that had brought him success for so much of the first set, he held his position on the baseline, remained committed to attack, and used wide serves to open up the court for his sledgehammer forehand. 

It all came down to a final-set tiebreak that was like a standalone match in its own right. Having rattled along at a brisk pace for most of the afternoon, the pair suddenly became embroiled in long, grinding rallies, with neither man willing to seize the initiative. At 6-3, Rublev held three match points, but once again he was pegged back. This time, though, Rublev held his nerve, finally prevailing 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). Point proven.

“Normally after something like that, I don’t think I would win a match,” said Rublev. “Being able to turn around a match and win – win not only like the second and third sets, but win the third set on a tiebreak 9-7, [after] being 6-3 up, this is something that never happened to me.”

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The pattern continued at the ATP Finals in Turin, where Nadal opened his challenge with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 defeat against Taylor Fritz, the American eighth seed, that complicates both his hopes of advancing from Green Group and his prospects of ending the year as world No 1. 

Beaten by Frances Tiafoe at the US Open and Tommy Paul at the Paris Masters, Nadal has now lost three consecutive matches for the first time since 2009. After starting the season in fairy-tale fashion with victories at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, he is slowing rapidly as the finish line nears.

Historically, Nadal has had his share of struggles against big-serving, flat-hitting opponents. Fritz, who defeated the Spaniard in the Indian Wells final in March and extended him to a fifth set at Wimbledon, fits the bill perfectly. Nadal’s difficulties were compounded by the quick conditions, the fast surface nullifying the potency of his heavy topspin while playing to Fritz’s strengths.

“There’s so many variables,” mused Fritz, who qualified for the finals at the 11th hour after the withdrawal of the injured Carlos Alcaraz. “This is a fast court. All it takes is one service game where I miss some first serves, he plays some good points, maybe I make some mistakes, I get broken. That could be the set.  

“I definitely didn’t come out thinking that I was the favourite by any means, because just with how the surface is, the littlest thing can get you broken and lose the match. But I did feel if I took care of my serve and took care and returned well at times, found looks to break him, I felt like I had a really good chance of winning.”

So it proved. Fritz’s attacking intent was clear from the outset, the big Californian clambering all over Nadal’s second serve and frequently painting the lines with his powerful groundstrokes. Fritz fashioned a break point as early as the third game, in which Nadal held only after an eight-minute battle, and the Spaniard was forced to fend off two more in the seventh. 

When Nadal angled away a stunning backhand overhead after chasing down a net cord with Fritz serving at 5-6, it had the feel of a turning point. Instead, Fritz snuffed out the danger with some clinical serving, capitalised on a Nadal double fault at the start of the tiebreak to establish a 3-0 lead, and nipped an attempted fightback in the bud with a deceptively pacy forehand at 3-2. He would not be caught. 

By the early stages of the second set Nadal, to his evident dismay, was missing regulation sliced backhands; by the latter stages, as he cast quizzical glares at the surface ever more frequently, the Spaniard looked bereft of ideas.

“I felt that everything was going so fast,” said Nadal. “When that happens, normally you are under stress and you don’t have the time to play the kind of shot that you want. In most of the points of the match, I was in a defensive position and he was in an offensive position.

“I was not able to handle his power. It’s obvious that on this kind of surface, you need to play very well. You don’t have time to think of a tactic, because you can’t have a tactic in terms of going back, playing different way. There is no time. Things are going so quick. 

“Serving like Fritz served, then you are under pressure all the time, no? When somebody is serving that way, on the return he is going for every shot.”

Some context is necessary, of course. The second half of Nadal’s season has been marred by the abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw from the Wimbledon semi-finals – and which, he revealed a couple of days ago, recurred on the eve of the US Open – while last month he became a father for the first time. That his return has coincided the period of the season he finds most challenging, against high-quality opposition and with little tennis under his belt, has only compounded his difficulties.

“I need more matches to play at this kind of level – even if I am practising well, much better than how I am competing,” said Nadal, who must now win a maiden title at the finals if he is to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz as world No 1.  

“At the end, it is not the ideal tournament – and probably part of the season – to come back after a couple of months without being on the tour, because you don’t have time to get confidence.  

“[From] the beginning, you have a very tough opponent in front [of you], on a surface [where] very small details make the difference. These small details probably go the way of the player who [has] better confidence.”

While Nadal will look to be more punctilious against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday, Fritz will face Casper Ruud, who ran out a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 winner against the Canadian in the day’s opening match.

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A little experience goes a long way in such circumstances, which does much to explain how Casper Ruud, a semi-finalist at the season-ending showpiece last year, opened his latest campaign with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in Turin.

On form, it was not the outcome many would have anticipated. While Ruud, the Norwegian third seed, arrived in north Italy with just two wins from his past four tournaments, Auger-Aliassime earned his place in the eight-man field with a sequence of three straight indoor titles last month, part of a 16-match winning streak that has lifted him to a career-high ranking of sixth. 

With Ruud widely regarded as a clay-court specialist, at least until his barnstorming run to the US Open final two months ago, the big-serving Auger-Aliassime might also have expected to be the chief beneficiary of the fast indoor hard court in use at the Pala Alpitour.

But things do not always pan out as expected at the dog-end of the season, and it was Ruud who proved the more clinical performer, converting the only break point of the contest to seal victory in an hour and 51 minutes. Tiredness, the 23-year-old said, could wait a week or so.

“Here we are, the last tournament of the year, let’s try to give it the last push, give everything you have left in the tank,” said Ruud following his third consecutive straight-sets win over Auger-Aliassime. “It’s been a long year, like everyone knows. Most of us have played close to 70, even 80 matches this year. It’s going to be obvious that some of us are quite tired.

“But you’re trying to think it’s the last push, it’s the last sort of sprint. If you are running a marathon, you are on the last turn, I guess, before the finish line is there. We still have some to give.”

Ruud, who added that facing the Canadian in his opener, before either man had fully adjusted to the surface, “could have been an advantage for me”, said the quick conditions had helped him on serve. Yet he also attributed his positive start partly to the feelgood factor generated by his strong showing last year.

“I was serving 215 kilometres an hour, which is not very regular for me,” he told Amazon Prime’s Annabel Croft. 

“So I think we’re getting a little bit of help from the altitude, and then the court plays pretty fast. It’s quite slippery and [the ball] stays low – maybe not the conditions I would wish for if I could choose my playing conditions.

“But I’ve been able to come here [a few] days in advance and prepare, and knowing that I was able to perform well here last year, that’s kept my motivation and confidence high. The last weeks have been a bit of a struggle but, as soon as I got here, I felt great right away and have been practising well.”

Auger-Aliassime played down suggestions that the lingering effects of a cold may have contributed to what was a surprisingly lacklustre display by his recent standards. The defeat had more to do with poor returning and “a few bad mistakes” in the second set, said the 22-year-old, although he acknowledged the unique mental challenges involved in competing at the finals. 

“It’s kind of strange,” said Auger-Aliassime. “You have this stress and pressure, like this energy to qualify for this event the whole year, especially at the end of the year, the way I did it. It’s like you go there, but there’s still matches to play and compete. It’s not like, ‘Now I qualified and I can rest.’

“I was thinking that would be a mistake, to come here and act like I’m happy and this is it. I felt good today. No problem, actually. I was thinking, ‘Maybe my first time. I’m not going to feel great.’ [But] from the first balls, I felt good, I felt like normal.”

With Rafael Nadal awaiting on Tuesday night, a rapid return to normal service will be vital for Auger-Aliassime’s hopes of advancing from Green Group. In the night session, Nadal, the top seed, was beaten 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 by Taylor Fritz. The American eighth seed will face Ruud next.

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