For Rune, it was the first time in an ATP final. He managed to take a set, but the Serb on the other side of the net was too strong in the end.
The 24-time grand slam champion needed just one more win – or for rival Carlos Alcaraz to lose – to secure the world number one spot for another season. Djokovic managed it all on his own and that also means a record: he has now managed the first place eight times.
– I found a way to win against an opponent who played fantastically. He showed courage today, Djokovic said after the match.
Djokovic, who has won all of his last 19 matches, has had another fairly successful year despite his age, winning three of four grand slam titles.
The 36-year-old came to Italy after recently winning the Paris Masters. The win was his 40th Masters title – a feat no other tennis player had previously achieved.
A tournament win in Turin would give him his seventh ATP Finals title, one more than Roger Federer, who retired last year.