Djokovic edged Roger Federer 7-6(6), 7-5 in Monday’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title match to finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, defeating rivals Federer, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Juan Martin del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The victory over Federer enabled Djokovic to become the ATP World Tour’s match win leader for the year with 75 victories, breaking a tie with David Ferrer.
“It's been a very long year, a very long two years, but a very successful two years,” says Djokovic. “I didn't really know how I will follow up after incredible 2011, but I believed that I have to use the time where I'm playing the best tennis of my life and I'm winning Grand Slams and finally realise what I need to do to win the major tournaments.”“This was my time, my moment, and I needed to step in and really believe in my ability. So throughout the whole season I've had lots of success and had some disappointing losses at big events, in a couple major finals,” reflects Djokovic".
Before preparing for his 2013 campaign, Djokovic plans to dedicate a period of time to unwind. The 25 year old, who was accompanied in London by girlfriend Jelena Ristic and their dog Pierre, is looking forward to a getaway in paradise.
“But considering my holidays, I have a busy week now. The next six or seven days, I have a couple exhibition events [and] then two and a half weeks completely off in a very tropical, very beautiful place with no racquet, no tennis. [I’ll] just try to recharge my batteries.”