Djokovic’s Special 2011—Nathan’s Blog

Written by: Staff on 18th December 2011

Djokovic’s Special 2011—Nathan’s Blog |

By: Nathan M. Cuny

Here’s a big question many are asking—can Djokovic do it again, or was his 2011 season a fluke? Many have had a say in the matter doubting any future success, while others boast he will do it again. I’m not here to say he will or he won’t. I’m here to give just the facts.

From 2007 to 2010 Djokovic was No.3. Nobody expected more or less from him and all of the attention was on the rivalry between Nadal and Federer. By the end of March 2011 Djokovic astounded the tennis fans as he pushed Federer to No.3, and by July Djokovic astounded the world when he became No.1.

How did he do it? By winning three grand slams—the US Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open. Winning five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles—Canada, Rome, Madrid, Miami, and Indian Wells. As well as the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade, the Serbia Open, plus the ATP 500 event in Dubai. That makes 10 titles in one year, twice as many as in 2009 and 2007 when he held five titles.

Skeptics attribute his success to the psychological and physical wear the game has put on Nadal. Others say Federer would have done better, but he was focusing on his form for 2012. This all makes Djokovic’s success seem like a fluke, but there were other players lined up to move in, like Andy Murray and Robin Soderling who began 2011 less than a 1000 points behind where Djokovic began. Djokovic started 2011 with 6,240 points and by the season’s end accrued a total of 13,630 points, that’s over a 1000 more than Nadal had back when he finished as No.1 in 2011.

Even with talk about some minor troubles Nadal and Federer faced, putting them aside, Djokovic didn’t attain his 2011 70-6 win loss record by only playing those two. He managed it by playing the likes of Jo-Wilfired Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Juan Martin del Potro and more. In the first half of 2011 he had a 43-match winning run, beginning halfway into January at the Australian Open and ending at Roland Garros near the end of May where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals.

Had it not been for back and shoulder injuries near the end of the season Djokovic may not have faced four defeats at the seasons close. Concerning Djokovic and his 2012 season John McEnroe put in his 2-cents, “Djokovic is the favorite for the Australian Open but if he retired at two sets to one down in the quarterfinals because he couldn’t breathe that also wouldn’t shock me. It looked like he had conquered that sort of thing but going down the stretch in the last few months of this year maybe he wasn’t digging as deep as he could. Perhaps he was already thinking about next year.” Djokovic begins the 2012 season with a kick off tournament against Gael Monfils at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. If Djokovic succeeds he faces Federer for the title.

Lastly, Sports Illustrated is inviting its Facebook fans to vote for their top five sporting moments of 2011. If enough fans vote Djokovic will grace the cover of the magazine’s year-end double issue, which hits newsstands on 21st December. Cast your vote on Facebook, voting ends Friday December 16th.

Topics: Novak Djokovic