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IMAGE: Novak Djokovic poses with a trophy after winning the men’s Astana Open final against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.\u00a0Photograph: Pavel Mikheyev\/Reuters <\/span><\/p>\n Novak Djokovic lifted the Astana Open trophy in Kazakhstan, after sealing a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Serbian Wimbledon champion extended his win streak to nine, wrapping up the final in 75 minutes without facing a break point and booked his place at next month’s ATP Finals.<\/p>\n “I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play this well at this stage of my life,” Djokovic told reporters.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It was the fourth title of the year, for 35-year-old Djokovic and the 90th tour-level trophy of his career.<\/p>\n “Obviously, I didn’t know the number of finals I was going to play, the number of tournaments I was going to win, but my intention was always to reach the highest heights in our sport,” Djokovic added.<\/p>\n Greek Tsitsipas has now lost all nine ATP 500 finals he has reached.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, at the Japan Open, Taylor Fritz beat fellow American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in a tense final on Sunday and claimed his third title of the year.<\/p>\n IMAGE: Taylor Fritz with the trophy after winning the Japan Open. Photograph: Androniki Christodoulou\/Reuters <\/span><\/p>\n The two 24-year-olds traded breaks in the opening set before the greater consistency of Fritz took him ahead in the tiebreak, and he secured it with a cracking forehand, breaking his opponent’s streak of 13 tiebreak wins.<\/p>\n The second set was equally intense as Fritz’s serve proved impenetrable, while Tiafoe bravely defended several break point chances inside Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum.<\/p>\n In the tiebreak, Fritz raced into a 6-2 lead with relentless power and accuracy before sealing victory when Tiafoe’s forehand went out.<\/p>\n Fritz, who will enter the top 10 in the world rankings on Monday for the first time, dropped his racket and let out a roar after boosting his chances to qualify for November’s ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.<\/p>\n “It’s crazy, and I couldn’t have written it any better,” he said after wrapping up the victory in, just under two hours.<\/p>\n “It’s exactly what I needed for the Race, for my ranking, to kind of, put me in a good position for the end of the year,” he said.<\/p>\n Fritz, the 10th American to win the Japan Open title and the first since Pete Sampras in 1996, also won titles in Eastbourne and Indian Wells this year.<\/p>\n He was in a week-long quarantine in South Korea after contracting COVID-19 and flew to Tokyo on Wednesday, the morning of his first match at the Japan Open.<\/p>\n Tiafoe, Fritz’s Laver Cup teammate, still awaits his first title this year but will climb two spots to a career-high 17th in the rankings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n<\/p>\n News From This Website <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n