All of Djokovic’s rivals, even his closest rival Carlos Alcaraz, were defeated by the Serbian’s skill and metronomic consistency. This year’s race was close to the finish.
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After the ATP Finals, Djokovic has been granted the go-ahead to surpass the 400-week mark as the world’s top player. This week, he also aims to shatter the record by winning the season finale a record-breaking seventh time.
It is the kind of fantasy found only in the fiction section of libraries—to compete in all four Grand Slam finals in a season and to win three of them. However, Novak Djokovic is starting to recognize this story.
As a matter of fact, Djokovic is the first guy to achieve this incredible accomplishment four times in a season—winning three of the four Slams. It was during his breakout 2011 season—the start of the Djokovic era—that he accomplished it for the first time.
He also succeeded in doing so twice more, in 2015 and 2021. When asked to evaluate his 2023 season, Djokovic was asked to contrast it with the seasons prior to it, when he was similarly dominant on all fronts.
Although the 36-year-old acknowledged that it is difficult to draw comparisons, he felt “very dominant” in 2011 and 2015 because he had won more games. Though he did not win as many Slams in 2023, Djokovic’s opinion is hard to argue with.
“It’s definitely one of the best seasons. I mean, I had a couple of years, I think three times, that I won three out of four slams in a season, like 2011, 2015. In those years, I won more matches. I mean, I played more tournaments. I was really, I mean, feeling very dominant on the tour.”
Considering that he had only competed in 11 ATP events prior to the ATP Finals, he nevertheless considered this season to be “one of the best”. Additionally, he has the highest win percentage on the tour this year, at little over 90%.
“One of the best years. I wouldn’t say the best, but one of the best. I mean, the fact that I’ve won three out of four slams and played a final in the fourth and it’s still not the best year of my life, it’s quite nice to have that kind of situation (smiling).”
“It’s quite different circumstances this year compared to all the other years because I played, what, 10, 11 tournaments this year. I played very well – least of anybody. I just managed to peak at the right tournaments, at the right time. That’s what matters to me really.”
