Novak Djokovic won his fourth straight title at the season-ending ATP finals on Sunday by beating six-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic, who won three Grand Slam titles this year and reached the final in the other, capped the best season of his career with another superb display, including winning 16 of the 19 points on his second serve and saving both break points he faced.
“I couldn’t ask for a better finish of the season,” Djokovic said. “For some reason or another, I’ve been playing some of my best tennis after the U.S. Open, in Asia and also indoors, both Paris and London.”
Federer beat Djokovic on Tuesday in the group stage, but the 17-time Grand Slam champion made too many mistakes in the final on Sunday. Federer ended up with 31 unforced errors, including 15 from his usually reliable forehand.
He even gave away the final point with his second double-fault of the match.
“It would have been nice to serve a little bit better early on in the match, play better overall on his second serve, because he does allow you to play on his second serve,” said Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the 2012 final and pulled out of last year’s championship match against the Serb with a back injury. “Maybe at times I went for too much.”
Federer finishes his season with a 6-5 record in finals, with all five losses to Djokovic. Two of those of those came at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, giving Djokovic his ninth and 10th major titles.