In the Astana Open final, Novak Djokovic easily defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his 90th ATP Tour championship overall. The Serb won 6-3, 6-4 in just 76 minutes, securing his spot at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, in November. Djokovic won the Tel Aviv Open in Israel the week prior, and his victory in the Astana Open marked his second straight triumph.
The victories on consecutive days mark Djokovic's stunning comeback to the Tour after missing nearly three months and the whole North American hard-court swing, including the US Open, owing to his lack of immunizations. Behind Rafael Nadal, Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, and Ivan Lendl in terms of Tour titles won, the 21-time grand slam champion stands in fifth place all-time.
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Djokovic will undoubtedly enter the coveted ATP Finals as the favorite, despite falling to seventh in the global rankings due to his absence from tournaments in North America.
“I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life,” Djokovic told the ATP after the match. “You know, 35 is not the same as 25, but I think the experience probably in these kinds of big matches and big occasions helps as well to approach mentally in the right way.”
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