Novak Djokovic 'super-pumped' to end season on high after winning back-to-back titles

Novak Djokovic said he is "super-pumped and motivated" to finish the 2022 season on a high after winning his second ATP Tour title in as many weeks on Sunday.

Djokovic, 35, comfortably defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 in the Astana Open final on Sunday, a week after securing the Tel Aviv trophy. It was the Serb's fourth title this year from just 10 events, his limited schedule a consequence of certain entry rules prohibiting individuals unvaccinated against Covid-19 from entering a country.

This infamously played out in Australia in January when Djokovic, who thought he had been granted medical exemption to enter the country under a special visa, was ultimately deported after spending several days in an immigration detention hotel.

"I could not ask for a better restart of the season. I'm super-pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have done these past couple of weeks," said the former world No 1, now ranked seventh.

Despite his truncated season, Djokovic has hit several new milestones. His Rome Masters triumph in May gave him a 38th Masters, while his successful Wimbledon title defence in July equalled Pete Sampras's mark of seven at the All England Club and took him to 21 Grand Slams. Only Rafael Nadal, with 22, has more men's majors.

All this in a year which saw him booted out of Melbourne and banned from travelling to North America over his continued refusal to be vaccinated.

With the exception of the Laver Cup in London, which doubled up as Roger Federer's farewell, Djokovic didn't play for the best part of three months after Wimbledon. His "restart" in Israel came 16 years after he last played in the country.

Djokovic's determination not to waver over his vaccination stance meant he missed two of