LONDON - Novak Djokovic capped off a phenomenal autumn by defending his ATP World Tour Finals title with an impressive 6-3, 6-4

LONDON - Novak Djokovic capped off a phenomenal autumn by defending his ATP World Tour Finals title with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 win over Rafael Nadal in a duel between the two dominant players of the season on Monday night. Wholesale Shoes Australia . Theres no doubt Djokovic is the man to beat on indoor hard courts. And just for the record, his 22 consecutive wins to finish 2013 matched top-ranked Nadals best stretch of the year. Djokovics winning run started after a U.S. Open final defeat to Nadal, and during a span when the Spaniad replaced him atop the rankings. "The most positive thing that I can take from those 2 1/2 is the fact that I managed to regroup after a few big losses against Nadal, especially in Roland Garros, U.S. Open final and Wimbledon final," said Djokovic, who became the seventh player to win the elite season-ending tournament at least three times. His victory in London denied Nadal the only big trophy missing from his glittering CV. Having produced one of the most memorable comebacks in tennis, Nadal lost in a deciding match for the second time at the tour finals and missed the chance to join Andre Agassi as the only players to have won all four Grand Slams, Olympic gold, the Davis Cup and the year-end tournament. "Its not going to change my career, winning or losing today," Nadal said. "I am not very disappointed. I know that I was not the favourite for the match, even if I tried with the right attitude, in my opinion, fighting for every moment, trying to be positive in every moment, even if the match was not going the way that I would like." Mondays defeat was a strong warning to Nadal, who overhauled Djokovic for the No. 1 ranking last month, that his Serbian rival will be ready to extend his form into next years Australian Open, where he is the three-time defending champion. Djokovic has now beaten Nadal 10 times in 19 finals and is unbeaten since losing at the U.S. Open in September. "After the US Open final, of course, I needed to take things slowly and see and analyze what I did wrong, especially in the matches against him, to understand what I need to do in order to win against him," Djokovic said. "I think the results are showing that we had a great improvement in the last 2 1/2 months." Djokovic returned superbly from the start to move his Spanish rival around the court and prevent him from dictating the points. Nadal, playing on his less favourite surface, hit only nine winners and was broken three times. "If I can say about one thing that makes the difference in todays match was the serve — I didnt serve well, he served well," Nadal said. "So in this kind of court, first shot is very important, and he did that first shot much better than me." Nadal return to the No. 1 ranking came on the back of a stunning comeback from a career-threatening knee injury. Since returning in February, the Spaniard has won 75 matches —losing only 7 —to win 10 titles including the French Open, the U.S. Open and five Masters 1000 events. But Djokovic proved again that he still has the upper hand on hard courts by extending his head-to-head winning record to 13-7 on that surface against Nadal. "Year-end No. 1 is deservedly in Nadals hands because he had two Grand Slam wins, the best season out of all players, the most titles," Djokovic said. "I think thats no doubt, cannot question that. I tried to put aside the calculations and the rankings after U.S. Open and just tried to focus on one tournament at a time, one day at a time. That kind of attitude has helped me to get to where I am at this moment." Djokovic made an impressive start, hitting powerful groundstrokes to keep Nadal well behind his baseline while limiting his own mistakes. Returning well, the Serb made the most of two of Nadals backhand errors to break in the second game. He had another chance in the fourth game after Nadal double-faulted, but was unable to convert. Nadal got into the match from that point. He put Djokovic under pressure with his huge forehands in the next game and two unforced errors from the Serb allowed him to break back and then level at 3-3. But Nadal faltered in his next service game as he served a double-fault at 30-30. After a stunning exchange, Djokovic broke for 5-3 following a series of volleys at the net. Standing in the middle of the court, the Serb opened his arms and screamed as the crowd erupted in cheers. Djokovic sealed the first set with an ace. Appearing supremely confident, Djokovic raised his game further in the second set, pinpointing his shots on the lines to make life more difficult for Nadal after breaking in the third game of the second set. The resilient Spaniard saved two match points and kept encouraging himself until the end, but a final forehand too long gave Djokovic the title. Djokovic will now focus on the Davis Cup final later this week in Belgrade, where he will lead Serbia against defending champion Czech Republic. Cheap Shoes Australia . The Canadiens captain, who underwent surgery on his injured biceps in the off-season, had been skating with the team in a non-contact capacity since last week. Cheap Shoes Online Australia . The Jays responded to the three-spot Detroit placed on Casey Janssen the evening before with an attack on the Tigers Achilles Heel, its bullpen, tying the game in the ninth and winning the game in the 10th. The result absolved Marcus Stroman, brilliant once again, of a tough luck loss while at the same time robbing Max Scherzer, brilliant once again, of a deserved win. http://www.australiashoescheap.com/ . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Following Staffords rookie season in 2007, the Sabres lost co-captains Chris Drury and Danny Briere to free agency. Last year, long-time coach Lindy Ruff was fired. What occurred during a 24-hour stretch this weekend has become the topper, leaving Stafford shaking his head in disbelief after returning to practice Sunday. "I thought I had seen it all," Stafford said. "But, I guess, theres always room for more surprises. And this ones definitely a shocker." On Friday, Stafford had difficulty keeping his emotions in check after star goalie Ryan Miller was traded to St. Louis. A day later, he was blindsided upon learning of Pat LaFontaines abrupt resignation as president of hockey operations. "Its tough," Stafford said. "Its another challenge, a little more adversity that youve got to put on top of the pile." As if the Sabres (18-34-8) needed any more distractions during a season in which upheaval and dysfunction have been common threads for the NHLs last-place team. At 2-13-1, Buffalo got off to its worst start in team history. Leading scorer Thomas Vanek was traded to the Islanders in October. The Sabres opened 0-8-1 at home, before enjoying their first win on Nov. 12. Three days later, general manager Darcy Regier and coach Ron Rolston were fired. Now this. Miller getting dealt along with captain Steve Ott, were widely anticipated moves because both were in the final years of their contracts. LaFontaines departure was a surprise, coming a little more than three months after his arrival was hailed as a positive turning point for a struggling team. "Its a lot for our fans to swallow in a short amount of time," Sabres president Ted Black said. "It creates uncertainty. And its something that fans are going to be upset by." Black failed to divulge any further details regarding the resignation except to reiterate LaFontaine wanted to resume his previous role working with the National Hockey League. Black called the resignation a disappointment, but denied speculation that there had been any discord between LaFontaine and front-office staff or owner Terry Pegula. LaFontaine has not returned messages, and on Sunday, his cell-phone mailbox was full. Whats clear is that his departure marks the latest setback for a franchise that has had difficulty establishing a winning course in the three years since Pegula bought the team and vowed to build an immediate contender. Cheap Shoes Australia Onine. The Sabres are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a third straight season, and in the midst of a rebuilding plan that began with the purge of numerous high-priced veterans last year. Black said the objective has not changed, and the teams transformation will continue under general manager Tim Murray. "Pat was here for three months. It is one person," Black said. "I dont know if that impacts the greater mission or will deter us." Murray was hired by LaFontaine in January, and now assumes much of his former bosss responsibilities. It was Murray, who negotiated the Miller trade. And he is also fielding offers to make further deals before the leagues trade deadline on Wednesday. Next on Murrays priority list is negotiating a contract extension with interim coach Ted Nolan, who was brought in by LaFontaine for a second stint in Buffalo. "We want Teddy to be our coach going forward," Murray said. "If he wants to be here, I want him to be our coach." The question is whether Nolan wants to stay, something he left open following practice Sunday. "Right now, its not about my contract. Its about the situation thats happening," Nolan said. "Its about whats transpired in this organization, what happened to a very dear friend. And well leave it at that." So much for the momentum the Sabres were supposed to be enjoying with their first three-game winning streak in preparing to play Dallas on Monday. "We traded our franchise player, we traded our captain. Thats tough enough as it is. And then all of a sudden the situation with Patty," Nolan said. "Right now, I have to put my personal situation behind right now and really concentrate on those 22 guys here." Informed of Nolans comments, Murray said, "Im not going to beg anybody to come work here." Murray said its his objective to continue rebuilding the Sabres, which is what he was hired to do with or without LaFontaine. "I cant make choices for him. He makes his own choices," Murray said. "Im not one to dwell on what-ifs and sentiment and all that. But Ill forever be grateful that he hired me." ' ' '