US Open final 2015: Novak Djokovic closes in on Roger Federer’s prize money record
Novak Djokovic is rapidly closing in on Roger Federer's status as the highest paid tennis player in history after beating the Swiss in the US Open men's singles final.
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The world number one saw off Federer for a second successive major final, winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, taking his collection of Grand Slam titles into double figures and securing $3.3m (£2.1m) in prize money – the largest winner's paycheck in the sport.
In doing so, the Djokovic has broken his own record of the most amount of prize money won in a single year.
The Serb's entire career earnings now stand at $86.4m, cementing his status as the second best-paid player ever and putting him less than $7m behind vanquished opponent Federer in the top spot on $93.1m.
Six years Federer's junior at 28-years-old, and supremely dominant over the rest of the ATP Tour, Djokovic is likely to take that status as the sport's best-paid star sooner rather than later.
Djokovic's earnings for 2015, a typically successful year in which he has won three Grand Slam titles, now stand at $13.9m – more than double any other male player.
Andy Murray missed out on the chance to significantly add to his earnings by crashing out in the fourth round while Federer picked up $1.6m for finishing runner-up.
Despite a third loss in the French Open final, this is Djokovic's highest earning year to date by $1.1m – and he still has the ATP World Tour finals to look forward to in November.
Djokovic, may be chasing Federer as the highest career earning tennis player in history, but he does boast an impressive achievement: no player has ever won more in a single season.