Novak Djokovic is now one match away from breaking the world record in prize money earned at a tennis event at the 2022 ATP Finals.
This year, Djokovic and Casper Ruud proved to be the best two players at the ATP Finals. They are set for a meeting in the final of the year-end tournament Turin.
However, while the 21-time Grand Slam champion has yet to lose a match, his Norwegian opponent lost to Rafael Nadal in the group stage, so he can't finish the tournament unbeaten anymore.
And winning unbeaten is exactly what any player needed at the 2022 ATP Finals to break the world record in terms of prize money won at a single event.
Ashleigh Barty won the WTA Finals in 2019 and earned a total of $4,420,000 after only losing one match in the round-robin stage. That is the most prize money ever won by a tennis player, male or female, up to this point.
If Djokovic beats Ruud in the final on Sunday, he can collect $4,740,300 and, therefore, break this record by more than $300,000. After defeating Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals, the Serbian briefly spoke about money.
Djokovic admitted that he's aware that his earnings are public, but also reminded fans how high expenses tennis players have. Still, he knows that he's in a privileged position, which he acknowledged.
"Of course, people can see how much we are earning. What the media is not writing about is all the taxes and also the other expenses, but that’s fine. I cannot sit here and talk about money as an issue in my life or anything like that. I’ve been very blessed and lucky."
"It comes as a consequence of my tennis and the success that I’ve had, along with my family and my team. I think that every euro that I’ve earned was through hard sweat and tears. I don’t take anything for granted because I know how it feels like having zero on the table, five family members, war and sanctions."
"Let’s not forget where I come from, in which kind of era I was growing up I know exactly the opposite side, which helps me in life I think to appreciate everything I earn more."