Novak Djokovic of Serbia competes in the ATP 250 Tel Aviv Open final against Marin Cilic of Croatia (REUTERS)
Top Seeds Novak Djokovic produced a stellar performance to overtake Croatian Marin Cilic 6-3 6-4 in the final of ATP 250 Tel Aviv Open on Sunday and won his third title of the season.
Djokovic, his first singles player since winning his seventh Wimbledon title in July, launched an early attack on his opponent’s formidable serve as he cracked Cilic in the second game before continuing on. continued to open the score after less than 50 minutes.
Cilic, with almost no trouble serving all week, found himself under constant pressure from the Serbian’s deep returns and broke serve again in the first game of the second set, allowing Djokovic to take control of the match.
The 21-time major champion didn’t give up that advantage as he still did his job well to secure his 89th career title and 19th victory over the former US Open Cilic champion in 21. meeting times.
The title will be a big boost for Djokovic, who has missed the US Open and the North American heavyweight tournament due to his decision not to get a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to play at the Laver Cup team event in London. .
The 35-year-old’s next stop is the ATP 500 Astana Open, which kicks off Monday and will feature world number one Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
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