Novak Djokovic was recently presented with the year-end No. 1 trophy for a record-extending eighth time, as a mark of his stupendous season.
Djokovic overcame all challengers including his nearest one Carlos Alcaraz who took this year's race to the wire but came up short against the Serbian's excellence and metronomic consistency.
Djokovic has now been given the all-clear to crack the 400-week milestone as No. 1 following the conclusion of the ATP Finals. Additionally, he's got another record in sight this week, which is to win the season finale for a record-breaking seventh time.
Contesting in all four Grand Slam finals in a season and winning three of them is the kind of fantasy only seen in the fiction section of libraries. But for Novak Djokovic, it is now becoming a familiar tale.
In fact, Djokovic is the first man to accomplish this monumental feat (winning 3 of the 4 Slams a season) on four occasions. He did it for the first time during his breakthrough 2011 season, which signaled the birth of the Djokovic era.
And he accomplished this a couple more times, in 2015 and 2021. Djokovic was asked to rate his 2023 season and compare it to the preceding seasons in which he was equally dominant on all fronts.
The 36-year-old suggested it is hard to compare, but opined that he felt "very dominant" in 2011 and 2015 because he won more matches. Even though he won an equal number of Slams in 2023, it is tough to dispute Djokovic's assessment.
"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."
However, he rated his current campaign as "one of the best" considering he had only played 11 ATP tournaments before the ATP Finals. And his win rate stands at slightly over 90%, the best on tour this year.
"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."
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