World No. 4 ecstatic after beating Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to lift Eastbourne title before Wimbledon; Pliskova beats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 in women’s final
Novak Djokovic kisses his trophy after beating France’s Gael Monfils in Eastbourne on Saturday. Pics/AFP
Novak Djokovic clinched his first title since January with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gael Monfils in Saturday's Eastbourne final, while Karolina Pliskova lifted the women's trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki.
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Djokovic, playing the week before Wimbledon for the first time since 2010, captured his 68th career title - but just the second this year - after downing Monfils for the 14th time in as many meetings.
"It's been a great decision to come here," Djokovic, whose form has dramatically tailed off since completing the career Grand Slam at last year's French Open, told Eurosport.
"Coming to Eastbourne I obviously haven't had as much success as in previous seasons during the first six months."
Karolina Pliskova with her trophy on Saturday
The World No. 4 will face Slovakia's Martin Klizan in the first round at Wimbledon where he is a three-time former champion. The Serb, who will have former players Andre Agassi and Mario Ancic on his Wimbledon coaching team, spent only an hour and a quarter in taming the French second seed.
Djokovic has now won 19 consecutive matches against French players and 56 of 57 dating back to the 2010 Davis Cup final. He didn't drop serve, while breaking Monfils three times en route to his first grass-court title outside of Wimbledon.
Earlier, third seed Pliskova beat Danish sixth seed Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 to underline her status as a Wimbledon title contender. The Czech secured her third title of the season after breaking Wozniacki once in both sets, leaving the Dane still searching for a first trophy since her win in Hong Kong last October.
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