A disappointing run at the London Olympics didn’t deter Djokovic from winning his first hard court title this season on Sunday. It was a convincing 6-3 6-2 win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet to clinch the Toronto Masters on Sunday making this his second consecutive victory of the Canadian title.
Novak Djokovic wins the Tornoto Masters title
Djokovic and Gasquet went on court in the evening so as not to conflict with the London Olympic closing ceremonies.
The top-seeded Serbian dominated throughout the match and made quick work of Gasquet, holding serve during the entire 61-minute match.
The win capped a hectic week for Djokovic and a number of other players, who had little time to recover after competing at the London Olympics and then were forced to battle numerous rain delays that wreaked havoc on the playing schedule.
“This match was exceptional today, it’s been a long week, a tough week,” said Djokovic, “especially for players coming from the Olympics. But I’m glad I came here.”
In the first set, it was going head-to- head with Gasquet earning points on volleys and drop shots with his swift movements on the court and winning his first three service games. But once Djokovic took control and broke Gasquet’s service game to lead 5-3, Gasquet never quite recovered failing to win a single point in the last game and lost the first set 6-3.
Djokovic was clearly the favourite playing in a tournament sans Federer and Rafael Nadal and Olympic champion Andy Murray losing early to a knee injury.
In the second set, Djokovic immediately took charge of the game and broke Gasquet’s service in the first game itself. Though there were quite a few long rallies, but most of them ended in Djokovic’s favour.
Djokovic said he didn’t expect to win the title after his losses at the London Olympics.
“Truly did not expect myself to win this tournament, you know, after the emotional losses in Olympics. I really took it hard,” Djokovic told reporters.
“The losses in Olympic Games were more difficult for me emotionally than Wimbledon,” said Djokovic, who was the flag bearer for Serbia at the opening ceremony.
World number two Djokovic broke Gasquet three times and won an astonishing 84 percent of his first service points en route to his 12th career ATP Masters title and third in Canada in the past five years.
Even after rain washed out an entire day of play, Djokovic showed barely any sign of fatigue when he was forced to play his quarter-final match only four hours after winning his last-16 encounter.
The win tightens the race for the world number one ranking as Djokovic tries to claim the honour back from Roger Federer.
Tags: London Olympics, Novak Djokovic, Olympics, Richard Gasquet, Tennis, Toronto Masters
