Novak Djokovic scooped a prestigious award issued by Serbia's Olympic Committee following his terrific 2023 season.
At the end of each calendar year, the Olympic Committee of Serbia tends to recognize and award its patriots who excelled in various sports. Djokovic most certainly ticked all the boxes in 2023 to be crowned the Sportsman of the Year.
It is the tenth time in his career that he has been recognized for this achievement by his country, having won the award for the first time in 2007 - the year he reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open.
Since then, he went on to amass 24 major titles, which is the most of any man. Djokovic was at his scintillating best in 2023, winning seven titles in just 12 ATP events. Three of those came at Grand Slam level, winning the Australian Open for a record-extending 10th time.
The 36-year-old became the first man to win each of the four Grand Slams on three occasions after lifting the French Open for a third time last June. Although Djokovic fell short of winning Wimbledon (he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz), he bounced back during the US swing.
He won the Cincinnati Masters by beating Alcaraz in an epic final and later on won the US Open, his 24th Grand Slam, tying Margaret Court's all-time record. Djokovic also won the cat-and-mouse battle he had with Alcaraz for the year-end No. 1 ranking.
The Serbian star broke his own record in doing so, becoming the oldest year-end No. 1 in ATP history. And he put the icing on the cake on a splendid season by winning the ATP Finals for a record-breaking 7th time.
Although the ATP snubbed Djokovic during Awards Week, he has been honored by other sports organizations and famous publications. He was recently named the Balkan Athlete of the Year for the eighth time.
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