Djokovic clinches historic 100th singles title

 A battling Novak Djokovic made another bit of tennis history as he clinched his 100th ATP singles title with a comeback victory over Hubert Hurkacz in Geneva.

Serbia’s Djokovic, who has won almost all there is in tennis, is just the third man in the Open era to achieve the feat after Jimmy Con­nors and Roger Federer.

The 38-year-old had won all seven of his previous matches against Poland’s Hurkacz but had to grind out victory this time around, coming from a break down in the third set to win 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2).

Djokovic’s children ran onto court afterwards to congratulate their father, with wife Jelena watch­ing in the stands.

“I had to work for it, that’s for sure,” he admitted. “Hubi was probably closer to the victory the entire match than I was.

Victory also gave Djokovic some welcome time on the clay, with the French Open beginning on Sunday.

He arrived in Geneva without a win on the surface, having lost his first match in four of his past five tournaments.

A relieved Djokovic now travels to Paris – where he will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the first round – with his bid for a standalone record 25th Grand Slam title firmly on track.

However, it remains to be seen how quickly he will recover from a final lasting three hours and eight minutes.

This is Djokovic’s first title since Olympic gold in Paris last year – and marks a high point in a difficult year for the tennis great. –BBC

The post Djokovic clinches historic 100th singles title appeared first on Ghanaian Times.

Read Full Story