Novak Djokovic digs deep to see off Kei Nishikori in Rogers Cup final

• World No1 turns thoughts to Rio Olympics after 6-3, 7-5 win in Toronto
• ‘I’m competing in singles and doubles. Hopefully I’ll get at least one medal’

Novak Djokovic said the work he had done on improving his serve had come to fruition in his Rogers Cup victory over Kei Nishikori. Photograph: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic continued his dominance of Kei Nishikori with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

After clinching his 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, Djokovic immediately started to turn his attention to something more elusive, an Olympic gold medal.

In his first tournament since a third-round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon four weeks ago, Djokovic returned to winning ways and became the first four-time winner of the Rogers Cup. The world No1 seized the opening set in just over 30 minutes, and then dug deep during a spirited back and forth in the final stages of the hardcourt match.

Djokovic was bolstered by a strong service performance as he won 82% of his first-serve points and hit five aces. “I worked on it [with my coach],” said Djokovic, who struggled on serve earlier in the tournament. “I had to change something, I was not getting many of the free points [as I did today].

“It allowed me to be more aggressive. It was my best [serving] performance of the week.“

With the second set tied at 5-5 and the score at deuce, Djokovic won a pair of rallies to earn the decisive break. The Serb put extra loft on a forehead to create an unforced error from Nishikori on game point, before triumphantly pointing at his head to illustrate his savvy. He then served out to close the match.

Nishikori fought hard to stay in the final set but seemed to be bothered by his rackets as he made multiple trips to the side of the court to change. The Japanese player recorded his fourth straight Memphis title in February for his 11th ATP Tour victory, but he cannot seem to solve the world’s top player and has now lost nine straight times to Djokovic.

“It was a shame to lose but this was my first time final here in Toronto,” Nishikori told the Canadian crowd. “So, it was a great week.“

Djokovic, a 12-time grand slam champion, will now turn his focus to the Olympics, a tournament he has yet to conquer. He earned a bronze medal in singles at Beijing in 2008 and fell just short of a medal at London in 2012.

“I don’t need to explain that every athlete dreams of being a part of the Olympic Games,” he said. “I’m competing in singles and doubles. Hopefully I’ll get at least one medal.”