Djokovic beats Ruud at ATP Finals for 6th straight win

Turin: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to six matches with a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Casper Ruud on Monday to open his campaign at the ATP Finals.

Following a two-month break after his loss to Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final which ended his pursuit of a calendar-year Grand Slam Djokovic returned this month and won the Paris Masters.

He's now attempting to match Roger Federer's record of six titles at the season-ending event for the top eight players.

The victory gave Djokovic an early lead atop the Green Group in round-robin play, with 2018 champion Stefanos Tsitsipas playing Andrey Rublev later.

Medvedev and Alexander Zverev won in the Red Group on Sunday as the tournament made its debut in Turin after 12 years in London.

Strong serving and consistent baseline play propelled U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev to a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 win over first-time qualifier Hubert Hurkacz in the opening match of the ATP Finals.

Meanwhile, 2018 champion Alexander Zverev won when local favorite Matteo Berrettini of Italy retired early in the second set with an apparent abdominal injury.

Zverev won the first set 7-6 (7) and was leading 1-0 in the second when Berrettini dropped his racket to the ground, covered his face and bent over in apparent pain.

After the match, Djokovic was presented with the trophy for finishing the year ranked No. 1, a feat he accomplished for a record seventh time breaking a tie with childhood idol Pete Sampras.

In an on-court interview, Djokovic recounted how he fell in love with tennis watching Sampras when he was 4 or 5 years old and asked his dad to buy him a tennis racket.