Novak Djokovic equals Roger Federer’s magnificent feat, joins Rafael Nadal in elite list with Astana Open title

Novak Djokovic continued his dominating form since return to tour as he claimed his second consecutive title on Sunday after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to win the third edition of the Astana Open. Djokovic had last week clinched the ATP 250 title in Tel Aviv. He now has four titles in 2022, which includes a Grand Slam title haul in Wimbledon. And with the impressive win in Astana, Djokovic equalled one of Roger Federer’s magnificent feat and also joined Rafael Nadal in an elite list.

It was Djokovic’s ninth consecutive win in a row since return where he dropped just one set, during the semi-final match against Daniil Medvedev on Saturday where the Russian had suddenly retired at the end of the second set tie-break owing to an injury concern. This was his 90th tour-level title for Djokovic as he joined Nadal and Federer in the list of players in Open Era with 90 or more ATP titles.

ALSO READ: Medvedev breaks silence on sudden retirement during Djokovic clash in Astana Open: ‘Felt a strange pop in my adductor’

The legendary Jimmy Connors continues to dominate the list with his tally of 109 titles, followed by Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94). Nadal stands fourth on the list with his 92 titles while Djokovic is fifth.

When asked during his on-count interview if he ever dreamt of winning 90 TAP titles, Djokovic replied saying, I dared to dream, actually. I always hoped that I would be going to have a great career. Obviously, didn’t know the amount of finals I was going to play, the amount of tournaments I was going to win, but my intention was always to reach the highest heights in our sport.”

With the title in Astana, Djokovic now has won an ATP title in 19 different countries, same as Federer. His title hauls have come in – Netherlands, France, Australia, USA, Portugal, Canada, Austria, Italy, China, UAE, Serbia, Switzerland, Spain, UK, Monaco, Qatar, Japan, Israel, Kazakhstan.