The top seed had been unbeatable all week, but in the first two sets, the Serbian seemed a little off-colour before securing a 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over the 22-year-old.
The Serbian's high-quality return game proved to be a huge difference between both players. He carved out all five break-point opportunities in the match. Ruud also hit strongly, but the 'Big Match Djokovic' was too good for him in this 93-minute battle for the title
Djokovic passed a stern semis test, defeating the American by 7-6(5), 7-6(6). He is now just one win away from equalling Swiss legend Roger Federer's record of six titles at the prestigious event that concludes the season
Alcaraz has experienced an incredible rise in the world of tennis this year. He soared from number 32 to the top of this sport's mountain on September 12, which is also the biggest jump to number one in 50 editions of year-end ATP rankings, as per ATP.
The current world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will be missing the tournament due to an injury. This will leave Nadal, Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev and Taylor Fritz fighting for the singles title
The birth of his child has made 2022 even more memorable as the Spaniard has had a stellar year winning the Australian Open. He also made history at the French Open by winning it for a record 14th time
Swiss tennis legend announced his retirement from competitive tennis on September 15 stating that the recently concluded Laver Cup would be his last Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event as a player.
Britain's Murray believes the emotional scenes that welcomed the end of Roger Federer's international playing career this week at the Laver Cup were "super special".