Novak Djokovic will remember the year 2023 fondly as he scripted history surpassing fierce rival and long-term competitor Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam tally to stand alone at the top of the men’s players list with the most number of Majors in the history of the sport.
The 36-year-old Serbian took his Grand Slam tally to a whooping 24 as he managed to claim three out of the four majors up on offer with title runs at the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open. He also polished off the year with the ATP World Tour Finals trophy and the year-end No.1 ranking.
Australian Open: Djoker reaches the ’10’ Milestone
Djokovic’s year was off to a terrific start in terms of majors as he reclaimed the AO throne to draw first blood, after being denied the chance to defend his title last year out due to his anti-vaccination stance.
The Serbian put up a dominating display at the happy slam to claim a record-extending 10th title on the synthetic surface in Melbourne in front of adoring fans.
He came into the tournament on the back of a win at the Adelaide International…
The tournament down under set the tone for ‘Serbinator’ to carry into the season as he brushed off challenges from Roberto Baena, Enzo Couacaud, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur, Alexandre Rublev and Tommy Paul before getting the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the summit clash to get his hands on the AO title yet again.
It was also the 22nd career major of his illustrious career as he levelled Spaniard Nadal for the most number of titles in the history of the men’s game, before eventually going on to surpass the Spaniard’s tally while he was sidelined for most part of the year due to injuries.
French Open: Surpassing Nadal and the Kosovo Controversy
Up next was the Roland Garros and it was rather ironic that the Serbian went past Nadal’s trophy haul at the southpaw’s favourite hunting ground- the French Open in the nation’s capital city of Paris.
Nadal hold the record for the most number of titles on the Parisian clay as the hard-hitting Spaniard has managed to get his hands on the trophy an awe-inspiring 14 times.
But, in what would have been a bitter-sweet moment for the Spaniard, Djokovic would claim his 23rd career major in fine fashion as he got the better of Aleksander Kovacevic, Marton Fucsovic, Alejandro Davidovic Fokina, Juan Pablo Varillas, Karen Kanchanov, and Carlos Alcaraz to reach the final of the clay court tournament.
Djokovic then went on to register a win in France with FIFA World Cup-winning footballers, such as Olivier Giroud and the French team in attendance as he got the better of Casper Ruud in the championship battle.
Djokovic’s title in Paris wasn’t devoid of controversy though as he got into hot waters for signing a camera with the words ‘Kosovo is at the heart of Serbia’.
The champion’s message caused an uproar amid rising tension as comments about the ever-touchy subject of Kosova’s position and anonymity in the eyes of Serbia did not go down well with some.
Serbians, who make up a huge chunk of the population in the north of Kosovo, have never accepted Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia, and still see Belgrade as their capital.
The comments landed him in a whirlwind of reviews and comments, but Djokovic did not let any of the critics faze him as he went on to claim the clay-court tournament for the third time in his career.
And thereby leaving Nadal on his trail in the list of overall men’s grand slam titles.
Wimbledon: The Hurdle that snatched a calendar slam from the Serb
As the grass-court swing rolled around, fans were eager to watch Djokovic defend the Wimbledon crown that he claimed last year amid the ATP’s ‘no points’ status for the event at SW19 due to the All England Club’s position of participation of Russians and Belarussians in the aftermath of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
With Nadal out of the tournament with injuries, Djokovic was touted as the clear favourite and it seemed as though the Serbian would go on to claim the Wimbledon title and look to complete the incredible achievement of a calendar slam, winning all four grand slams in a year.
And with every win at the famous grass court in England, it seemed increasingly likely that the Serbian would hold on to the title for another year.
He brushed aside the tests of Pedro Cachin, Jordan Thompson, Stanislas Wawrinka, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner to set up a championship clash against the young Alcaraz.
The final at the classy rounds seemed to be poised in towards Djokovic too initially as he claimed the opening two sets of the summit encounter and seemed to be on the verge of yet another successful title defence. However, Nadal’s compatriot Alcaraz had other plans as he fought back from two sets down in the all-important fixture to claim his first Wimbledon crown from under the nose of Djokovic.
An emotional Djokovic congratulated the victor for an incredible performance in the final and teared up a little as he gave the world a glimpse of the human side. of the ‘Serbinator’.
And it seemed like Djokovic would have to try again to scale the calendar slam achievement that seems to still elude him.
US Open: Record extending 24th at the Flushing Meadows
Having missed out on the Wimbledon title, Djokovic came to the Americas with the eyeing his 4th title at the Flushing Meadows. He claimed the Cincinnati Masters in the run-up to the final major of the year with a revenge win over Alcaraz in the final of the ATP event.
He cruised past Alexandre Muller, Bernabe Zapata, Laslo Djere, Borna Gojo, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton to reach the title fixture of all four grand slams in the year for the third time in his career, to add to his 2015 and 2021 season records.
And as it turned out, Djokovic went on to claim his fourth US Open title with a straight sets win over losing finalist Daniil Medvedev in the final of the major in Flushing Meadows, to take his career grand slam tally to 24.
The Sweetener: ATP World Tour Final and Year-End No.1 Ranking
To add some shine to an already record-shattering year, Djokovic managed to end the year at the Numero Uno spot in the men’s rankings with his showing at the ATP World Tour Final as he pipped out Alcaraz for the honour.
Djokovic, who had to get past the group stage in the final event of the year to seal the top spot, did even better than the demand as he went on to win the title at the year-end event as well.
Djokovic got the better of Holger Rune, Sinner and Hurkacz in the group stages of the event before earning qualification to the knockout stages where he faced Alcaraz in the semi-final.
The Serbian once again got the beating of the Spaniard to move into the final, where he routed Italian Sinner yet again to add another piece of silverware to an ever-growing trophy cabinet.
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