Djokovic sets ATP prize money record

New York: World number one Novak Djokovic`s US Open triumph ran his Grand Slam total for the season to three and earned him a record amount of prize money.

Djokovic posted his 64th win in 66 matches and pushed his 2011 earnings past USD 10.6 million to set an ATP World Tour money record. The only other men to come close were Rafael Nadal in 2010 and Roger Federer four years ago. They both finished their seasons with just under USD 10.2 million. By beating Nadal in Monday night`s US Open singles championship, Djokovic earned USD 2.3 million. That comprises USD 1.8 million for winning the final Grand Slam of the season and an additional USD 500,000 bonus for winning the US Open series standings, which factors in results from the hard-court tuneup tournaments. Djokovic embarked on a media blitz of New York Tuesday to help celebrate his victory over Nadal. He began his day with the American talk morning shows, CBS` Early Show and NBC`s Today show. "It has been a dream year and the best of my career so I am loving every minute of it," Djokovic told reporters. "When you win against your top rivals it make victory sweeter. This is the trophy every tennis player dreams to win so I am really thrilled." Djokovic also travelled to the top of the Empire State Building for a photo shoot before taping a segment of the Jimmy Fallon show. PTI