Djokovic beats Federer to win ATP finals

But that is only the beginning.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic headed off for a well-earned holiday after ending a season “as close to perfection as it can get” with his 11th title of 2015 at the ATP World Tour Finals.

Federer was thinking no further, tennis-wise, than Australia, where he will resume in Brisbane, and experienced his worst grand slam loss of the season against Andreas Seppi in the third round at Melbourne Park. And then Djokovic did what Djokovic always does in a final: he snuffed out any glimmer of hope and ground his way towards yet another trophy.

Asked if he needed to alter hs style of play in a bid to subdue Djokovic, Federer said: “Not really because I feel I need to work on my overall game that is going to have an impact against most players”.

“Roland Garros is always one of the biggest challenges I have every year, but it’s not the only one”, he said.

Federer, on how he will decide when and if to shave his beard: “If it itches too much, I’ll take it off. If my girls can’t stand it, I’ll take it off. If I look in the mirror and I don’t like it, I’ll take it off. Maybe I’ll think of Santa and keep it. (Christmas is) around the corner”. I’m just trying to cherish every moment at this level. “I’d just like to say how happy I am that I could play today. You grow up dreaming to play tennis in tournaments like this and to fight for the biggest trophies in sport, so thank you all very much for making this day so special”.

Three of Djokovic’s defeats this year were at the hands of Federer, who beat him in the finals in Dubai and Cincinnati and in the round-robin stage here last week, but on this occasion the 34-year-old Swiss was ground down by the Serb’s relentless excellence. “For him it’s an advantage because he gets a second chance, and he’s in another final”.

And on top of that he has now evened his head-to-head record against both Roger Federer (22-22) and Rafael Nadal (23-23). With Federer serving and coming to the net, Djokovic broke for 2-1 with a lovely backhand and that advantage was never threatened as the match wore on.

Djokovic’s consistency throughout 2015 was astonishing and the way in which he dominated all phases of the game – including the most crucial battleground of all in sports, that of players’ psyches – was incredible considering the increasingly physical nature of the sport.

For the longest time, the argument against Djokovic was that both Roger and Rafa had a positive record against him.

Djokovic won bronze at the 2008 Beijing games but failed to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. Back spasms had left him hobbling around and unable to play. At least this time he put up a decent show even if the result was inevitable. It was a fantastic year all round.

David Ferrer, on if he could have done anything differently against Wawrinka: “I tried to do my best”. A few points were insane. “But Novak deserved to win”. He is a former WTA Writer of the Year and the author of numerous books, including the classic The Courts of Babylon and the NY Times bestseller (with Pete Sampras), A Champion’s Mind.