Novak Djokovic achieves historic first in men’s tennis with Cincinnati win

With the win over Roger Federer at the Western and Southern Open, Novak Djokovic became the first player to win all nine Masters 1000’s, grand slams, and ATP World Tour Finals.

If 2017 was the year of comebacks for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, then 2018 is Novak Djokovic’s return to the top of the game. The Serb won the Western and Southern Open on Sunday, after five tries, making him the only player to have won all nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Coming on the back of his surprise Wimbledon victory, it certainly has been Djokovic’s year of resurgence.

Prior to the match, Djokovic spoke with the BBC and knew history was on the line and he used his chance to join the record books as motivation.

Federer had also been going for his record eighth title in Cincinnati, and his 99^th ATP victory, putting him closer to Jimmy Connors’ inspiring 109, but the Swiss great will have to wait. He’s won only three titles this year, including the Australian Open. It’s still an impressive feat, but he’s won less than last year and has appeared more tired in tournaments.

Although his serve had been spectacular all week in OH, he seemed grumpy, muttering to himself after some misses, in the final. He also produced a staggering 38 unforced errors, tipping the balance in the final to Djokovic.

The 13-time grand slam champion will now enter the U.S. Open with a major boost of confidence, having won the last slam and increased his success tally over Federer by two, 24-22. The final at Flushing Meadow is the grand slam final he was in before his Wimbledon comeback this year, having lost to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 U.S. Open, which began his downhill spiral throughout last year. It wasn’t an easy road back for the 31-year-old Nole, but his build-up since the beginning of 2018 has paid off recently.

Still, it was a good week for the 27-year-old Federer, who had to lose sometime in Cincinnati, having won every final there in the past, with seven of those weird-looking trophies (seriously, that has to be the ugliest trophy in tennis). His rival paid respect to the tennis great in his victory speech.

“It’s obviously a very special moment to stand here with the trophy in Cincinnati,” Djokovic said, via Reuters. “I’ve played five finals before and most of those I’ve lost to this great man. Thank you, Roger, for letting me win once here! It was a tough match for him. He probably didn’t feel his best but he’s a great champion and probably the best to ever play the game.”

Federer was equally gracious in his comments back to Djokovic.

“Congratulations Novak on making history today,” Federer said in his speech. “Not just today, but on your whole career. To get to this point is an amazing achievement and you should be very proud, well done. It’s been a great week. The rain was tough on players but we had a great time. Getting the sunshine for the final was a wonderful treat. It’s nice to see this tournament grow, it’s one of my favorite to play. It’s been a treat to be back after missing out for two years, I hope to be back next year.”

Up next for both players is the last grand slam of the year, the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 27. So far Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have claimed the first three slams of the year. Whoever wins the fourth slam of the year will be an interesting testament to the year of tennis.