People say that young, fresh and athletic players dominate most of the sport, overshadowing athletes close to retirement. Retiring players even start to fade away from people’s memory following their lesser game time and performances in the match. Well, 36-year-old Djokovic proved these myths wrong, playing in most of the major tournaments and even winning them with some flair. The 2023 tennis season for Novak Djokovic can even be considered among the greatest seasons of all time for a male tennis player. Djoker made his professional debut back in 2003, in an era dominated by two other European megastars of the game – Swiss star Roger Federer and Spanish international Rafael Nadal. 20 years into the sport, Djokovic not only dethroned his counterparts off the top spot in Men’s Tennis, but now looks “undisputed at the top” even with likes of Daniil Medvedev, Tsitsipas, and Carlos Alcaraz knocking on the door. Tennis Calendar 2024: Schedule and Dates of Major Tournaments Including Grand Slams in The New Year.

Following ‘the Vaccine-trouble’ in the 2022 season, Djokovic was able to play his first complete season with the exceptions of Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments. Novak’s 2023 season officially began on January 01  2023, with the start of the Adelaide International which he won dropping just one set in the complete tournament. Staying in the down-under Djokovic won his 10th Australian Open title – most by any athlete, and 22nd overall major. Nole’s run of 15 wins in a row was eventually ended by Daniil Medvedev in the Dubai Open, where the Serbian star lost in the semifinal game.

After a rough start to the clay season, Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Rudd in the French Open finals, capturing a record 23rd Grand Slam in the process. He also became the first player to achieve the triple career Grand Slam (winning each grand slam at least thrice) in men's singles. But on the Grass court major – Wimbledon, Djokovic lost to young Alcaraz in the finals, denying a chance at his first calendar slam. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka Win ITF World Champion 2023 Awards.

Success At Every level for Novak Djokovic in 2023

 

Djokovic returned with a bang, winning the Cincinnati Masters, and US Open (24th Grand Slam) to cap off the major tournaments. He even participated in the Davis Cup – helping Team Serbia to reach the semifinals of the competition in November. Australian Open 2024: Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber Among Stars Making Comebacks; Nick Kyrgios, Emma Raducanu Missing From Entry List.

More than the above wins, some statistical accomplishments of Novak Djokovic during the 2023 season are,

  1. Extended his men's record for World No. 1 ranking to 403 weeks – most in any gender (next in the list is Steffi Graph – 377 weeks)

  2. Played in his 36th Grand Slam finals – most in any gender (Next in the list is Roger Federer – 31)

  3. Set record for most Grand Slam semi Finals appearances – 47 (Next in the list is Roger Federer – 46)

  4. Set record for most ATP Finals titles – 7 (Next in the list is Roger Federer – 6)

  5. He also extended his record of Masters Finals appearances to 58 and Masters title wins to 40.

  6. With more wins than losses in the season, Novak also extended his record of the highest career winning percentage (minimum 500 wins) from 83.35% to 83.62% (1087–213).

  7. Defending some of the big-name and seeded players in 2023, the Serb extended his record of 240 wins over the top 10 ranked players to 257.

  8. Also end of 2023 would be his eighth year finishing with top seeding, another milestone for Djokovic.

Such a record-breaking year has been the most productive in any sport. Novak Djokovic is certainly cementing his legacy in the World of Tennis setting the comparison bar much higher than, any would think.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2023 03:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).