By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, November 9, 2023
Riding an 18-match winning streak into Turin, Novak Djokovic resides in the Green Group alongside Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Novak Djokovic has delivered a summer of solutions and will be tested in Turin.
Closing in on a record-extending eighth year-end world No. 1 finish, Djokovic will face dangers in the ATP Finals.
More: Team USA Turns Suicide Squad Supporting Captain
The draws for round-robin play were conducted today.
Riding an 18-match winning streak into Turin, Djokovic resides in the Green Group alongside Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz, that last man to defeat Djokovic, headlines the Red Group that includes 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Olympic gold-medal champion Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev.
Each group features a pair of former champions. Defending champion Djokovic and Tsitispas have each won the title in the Green Group. Zverev is a two-time former champion and Medvedev is a former champion from the Red Group.
The top-seeded Djokovic now has 9,945 ranking points in the Race to Turin—a full 1,500-point lead over No. 2 Alcaraz, which means barring complete collapse or injury at the ATP Finals, which start on Sunday, the Serbian should cruise to his record-extending eighth year-end No. 1 finish.
"I'm very close. I think I need one win to clinch the year No. 1, so that was the biggest goal other than, you know, Davis Cup for the end of the year," Djokovic said after winning his 40th Masters 1000 title in Paris on Sunday. "I'm going with good feelings, with a lot of confidence. You know, I haven't lost a match since Wimbledon final, so I'm really excited to hopefully finish off the season on a high.
"But yeah, clinching the year No. 1 and Davis Cup are the two biggest goals."
At year ago, Djokovic dismissed Ruud 7-5, 6-3 in the Turin final to make history as the oldest-ever ATP Finals champion—and equal Roger Federer's record capturing his sixth year-end crown.
The seventh-seeded Serbian capped an outstanding tournament that saw him post a perfect 5-0 record, repel a slew of younger Top-10 ranked opponents, beat back exhaustion in a three-hour thrilling win over Daniil Medvedev and add to his legacy earning a tennis record $4,740,300 champion's check.
Now, Djokovic returns chasing more history.