Novak Djokovic proved that his 8th place in the ATP rankings is only the result of a difficult season he has had (he missed several important events due to his unvaccinated status against Covid-19) and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas, the second favorite, in the Red Group of the 2022 Tournament of Champions .

Novak DjokovicPhoto: Antonio Calanni/AP/Profimedia

Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas at Champions Tour 2022

The Serb defeated the 2019 tournament winner 6-4, 7-6(4) after an hour and 39 minutes of play.

In the first set, Nole managed to distinguish himself in the very first game, when he managed the only break in the match. Djokovic served perfectly and did not give the Greek a chance to win back.

The second set was very balanced. Stefanos missed a break point at 2-1 (40-30) and couldn’t do anything after a very poor start to the tiebreak. Djokovic quickly broke away at 5-1 and, despite losing serve, saved the first match point.

In the other game of the Red group, Andriy Rublev beat Danylo Medvedev with a score of (7) 6-7, 6-3, 7-6(7).

Novak Djokovic speaking in Italian on the 2022 Champions Tour

At the end of the game, Nole surprised his fans at the Pala Alpitour in Turin with a speech in Italian.

“Thanks for the welcome. Every time you greet me like that. Italy has always been in my heart. I think it also helps that I speak a little Italian. I have a great desire to win, but I feel good here.

It was a special, difficult match. This is always the case with Tsitsipas. Same tonight. Service is of great importance. If you serve well, you will win a lot of points on this surface” – Novak Djokovicquoted by Eurosport at the end of the game.

Novak Djokovic won the Champions Tour five times: 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Tournament of Champions 2022, group composition

Green group

Rafael Nadal (1)

Casper Ruud (3)

Felix Auger-Aliassime (5)

Taylor Fritz (8)

Red group

Stefanos Tsitsipas (2)

Daniel Medvedev (4)

Andriy Rublev (6)

Novak Djokovic (7).

Know:

  • The first two places in the two groups advance to the semi-finals, where the first place in one group and the second place in the other group are played according to the system.
  • Tournament of Champions matches are played on a best-of-three sets basis.

Tournament of Champions – Records

  • Most titles (in singles): Roger Federer (6)
  • Oldest champion: Roger Federer, 30 years old, 2011
  • Youngest champion: John McEnroe, 19, 1978
  • Highest-ranked champion: 1st: Ilie Nastase (1973), Jimmy Connors (1977), Bjorn Borg (1979-80), John McEnroe (1984), Ivan Lendl (1985-87), Pete Sampras (1994, 1996) -97) , Lleyton Hewitt (2002), Roger Federer (2004, 2006-07), Novak Djokovic (2012, 2014-15) and Andy Murray (2016).
  • Champion with the lowest rating: 12th place: David Nalbandyan, 2005.
  • Most wins: Roger Federer (59).