When Novak Djokovic defeated Japanese ace Kei Nishikori last week to win the Miami Open for the sixth time, he equaled the achievement of the tournament’s victory record-holder Andre Agassi. But with the win, Djokovic managed to break a record too, that of Swiss Roger Federer.
The victory meant that with the trophy, the World No. 1 player would also be taking home a cheque for the prize money of $1,028,300. This makes the champion sprint ahead of Federer as being the player who has won the biggest amount of prize money on the tennis circuit. Djokovic’s total tennis earnings are now an astounding $98.2 million, beating the $97.9 million cash awards that Federer has taken.
Djokovic won his first Miami Open in 2007, and has been returning to lift the trophy in the years, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and now for the sixth time. The 11-time Grand Slam champion recalled that in 2007, the Miami Open had been the biggest tournament win for him, becoming ‘the springboard for everything that happened after that’.
The only defeat Djokovic has had so far this year was, when in Dubai, he was forced to quit mid-match against Feliciano Lopez because of a bothersome eye infection. From the looks of it, he seems unstoppable now, which of course means much more money in the bank before the year ends.