By Victor Kanayo
Top seed Novak Djokovic, produced a stellar display to sweep aside Croatian Marin Cilic 6-3 6-4 in the final of the ATP 250 Tel Aviv Open on Sunday and clinch his third title of the season.
Djokovic, playing in his first singles event since winning a seventh Wimbledon crown in July, launched an early attack on his opponent’s formidable serve as he broke Cilic in the second game before going on to take the opener in just under 50 minutes.
Cilic entered the final having faced just four break points all week, but he was under pressure on serve throughout the championship clash. Djokovic found great depth on his returns against the big-serving Croatian, which set the tone.
Djokovic consistently threatened his opponents’s serve with his play from the back of the court, while he dominated his own service games behind his first serve.
The Serbian did not face a break point in the first set and when he found himself in trouble at deuce while serving for the set, he responded with back-to-back aces.
The top seed then broke for the second time in the match to start the second set, with a deep return again paying dividends. That advantage proved to be enough as Djokovic claimed the crown after one hour and 35 minutes.
Cilic has the ability to take the racquet out of any player’s hand with his powerful game, but he was unable to take Djokovic out of his comfort zone. The World No. 7 faced just one break point, which allowed him to play with confidence. It also helped that he had the support of the crowd, as he did throughout the week.
“Just everything really that we experienced this week was positive. The way people treated us when we landed in Israel all the way to the last moments now of our stay here has been truly wonderful and I am very grateful, because it was more than a tournament for me,” Djokovic said.
“It was great connections that we established with people, all of us in the team, that we will cherish and will give us positive emotions for what’s coming up.”
Djokovic now leads Cilic 19-2 in their ATP Head2Head series. Thirteen of his 19 victories against the former World No. 3 have come in straight sets. Despite the loss it was a good week for Cilic, who celebrated his 34th birthday on 28 September.
The title should come as a major boost for Djokovic, who missed the U.S. Open and the North American hardcourt swing due to his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to action at the Laver Cup team event in London.
The 35-year-old’s next stop is the ATP 500 Astana Open, which kicks off on Monday and will feature world number one Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.
