Djokovic Doubles Up In Canada

© Getty ImagesNovak Djokovic successfully defended his Rogers Cup title.

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic retained his Rogers Cup crown on Sunday in Toronto, dismissing No. 14 seed Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2. It marked the Serbian’s first title since he successfully defended his trophy at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami (d. Murray).

Though he matched his 2011 performance with victory, Djokovic cannot usurp Roger Federer for No. 1 when the South African Airways ATP Rankings are updated on Monday. The 25 year old was contesting his 48th tour-level final, improving to 31-17, while upping his record in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 finals to 12-9.

“It's a big tournament, one of the biggest we have in tennis. I'm very happy to be in this position,” said Djokovic. “I truly did not expect myself to win this tournament after the emotional losses in the Olympic Games. I really took it hard. I tried to bounce back and recover; I've done great, I have to say.”

With his victory, the Serbian entered the 2012 Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings at No. 2, trailing Los Angeles champion Sam Querrey, whom he defeated in the Toronto third round. Gasquet, meanwhile, moved into a third place tie with four other players at 70 points.

Djokovic became the third player in the Open Era to win at least three titles at the Rogers Cup, joining six-time former champion Ivan Lendl and fellow three-time titlist Andre Agassi. In addition to his triumph last year, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the 2007 title match.

The top-seeded Djokovic capitalised on each of his three break points against Gasquet, while saving all four on his serve to clinch the final victory in 62 minutes. He improved to 7-1 versus Gasquet and has taken their past 11 sets played.

“I'm not one of the biggest servers in the game, that's for sure, but I always try to focus on the second shot after the serve,” Djokovic said. “I’ve been working on the efficiency of my first and second serve, but also trying to be aggressive in the first ball. It's been working exceptionally well throughout the whole week.”

Gasquet was looking to lift his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy on his third opportunity. He finished runner-up in Toronto six years ago to Federer and lost to the Swiss in 2005 at Hamburg. Gasquet was bidding to become the first Frenchman to win the event since its inception in 1881.

“It was a tough match,” said Gasquet. “It’s a big tournament. I felt a little bit more pressure. It's tough when you have Djokovic in front of you and you are not playing your best tennis. It's very difficult. He's going all the time with his backhand very early, so he's an incredible player. He played much better than me for sure.”

2012 Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings
Through Sunday, 12 August 2012

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