Against a man who has so often been his nemesis, Britain’s golden boy Murray produced a relentless display to claim a ninth title of a year which included a second Wimbledon crown and Olympic gold in Rio.
Murray’s play in the winner-takes-all season climax was all the more remarkable as a day earlier he looked on the point of mental and physical exhaustion after taking almost four hours to subdue Milos Raonic in the semi-final.
It would have been blow to Murray’s solar plexus if, two weeks after dislodging Djokovic from the top ranking, the Serb had ripped it back with a fifth consecutive Tour Finals title.
But his powers of recovery appear limitless as he handed an error-prone Djokovic a bitter defeat that will leave a sour taste in the 12-times major champion’s mouth as a new season swings into action in a few weeks.
On this evidence the Scot may enjoy his new status for some time.
Murray double-faulted twice in the first game and there was a wobble near the end as Djokovic mounted some late resistance, but with the majority of the 17,000 fans in the O2 Arena willing him on, Murray completed the job.
