In what was his 76th tour title win, ATP number one Novak Djokovic defeated John Millman to lift the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships on Saturday. After a mere hour and 10 minutes of play, Djokovic defeated the Australian 6-3 6-2 in the final.
“It was a fantastic week in every sense. I felt great on the court, felt very welcomed by the Japanese people, off the court as well. They made me feel like at home,” an elated Djokovic explained. “Didn’t drop a set, played really well, served great. Just overall, a great experience.”
This was Djokovic’s first tournament since the US Open Grand Slam, from which he was forced to retire due to a shoulder injury. Despite this setback, the Serbian managed to prove to the tennis world that he is back in peak physical form after making a full recovery.
Despite the gap in class, Djokovic nonetheless sang praise for his opponent in the final. “He had a great tournament. Considering he was close to losing in the first round of qualies, to get this far, I think he’ll take it. He’s a great fighter. He started off really solid in the match today. We had a tough battle in the first set. [In] the second set I stepped it up, started swinging through the ball even better than the first set. Overall, it was a great tournament for him.”
