Serbian world number two Novak Djokovic successfully defended the Rogers Cup 2012 title on Sunday in Toronto after beating France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-2. This is Djokovic’s 12th ATP 1000 Masters title. Earlier this season, the Serb defended another Masters-level title at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami.
Despite the victory, Djokovic won’t be able to overtake Roger Federer in the world’s rankings and will remain world number two.
“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,” he added.
Djokovic lost in the semifinals in the London 2012 Olympic Games against eventual gold medalist Andy Murray and then lost the bronze medal match to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro. Djokovic was the bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Meanwhile, Gasquet was aiming to win his first ATP 1000 level title after his two failed attempts in the past.
“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.”
For successfully defending the title, Djokovic moves to second place of the 2012 Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge Standings with 100 points, just 10 points shy from front-runner Sam Querrey.
