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Top tennis player Novak Djokovic became the first player to secure a year-end ranking for the seventh time Tuesday, surpassing Pete Sampras by reaching his 13th ATP World Tour Finals final, where he’ll face Alexander Zverev on Wednesday.
Djokovic, who was forced to miss the entire 2017 season while recovering from a wrist injury, lost to Zverev in their opener.
Zverev has been dominant throughout the entire season, winning 10 titles from 23 finals, along with this week’s title in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
On Djokovic’s return: “It’s just going to be an opportunity for him to show that he is the player that we want to see now when he comes back. He has been a great champion throughout his career and it’s certainly going to be a great moment for the sport.”
On his year-end No. 1 ranking: “It’s obviously an exciting moment because I’ve worked so hard to get there. I’m going to be on the court with the best players that I can in the history of tennis. It’s an incredible atmosphere, an amazing crowd, great city. It’s going to be a great experience and hopefully I can work my way to the final. If I lose that match, I go home, but everything happens for a reason.”