CNN
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Novak Djokovic claimed his 90th career ATP Tour title by passing Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Astana Open in Kazakhstan.
It took the Serb just 76 minutes to win 6-3, 6-4 to cement his place at the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy in November.
The Astana Open win was Djokovic’s second consecutive title after winning the Tel Aviv Open in Israel the previous week.
The back-to-back triumphs mark an impressive return to the Tour for Djokovic, who missed nearly three months and the entire North American hard-court swing, including the US Open, due to his unvaccinated status.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion is fifth all-time in Tour titles won, behind Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl and Rafael Nadal.
Despite falling to seventh in the world rankings following his absence from tournaments in North America, Djokovic will undoubtedly go into the prestigious ATP Finals as a favourite.
“I’m just very grateful and blessed to be able to play so well at this stage in my life,” Djokovic told ATP after the match.
“You know, 35 isn’t the same as 25, but I think having experience in big games and big occasions like that probably helps to approach it in the right way mentally as well.”