History is constantly being rewritten, records are made to be broken and nothing is ever set in stone. This week, the world’s number one male tennis player, Novak Djokovic, reminded us of these truths.
To say Djokovic’s 2015 has been an outstanding year is the understatement of the year, perhaps even of the first 15 years of this century.
Over the weekend Djokovic made history by winning his sixth Masters title in one season.
For the third year in a row and for the fourth time in his career, the Serb took home the Paris 1000 Masters with a straight-sets win over Andy Murray. He’s also the first man to win four Paris titles.
His other Masters victories this year were at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome and Shanghai.
With 26 Masters titles, he is just one behind Rafael Nadal, who has a record 27. No matter how he follows up on this year, it is inconceivable that he won’t soon smash through this record.
Djokovic seems almost unstoppable. A quick glance at his 2015 results shows just how phenomenal his year has been – a 78-5 win-loss record, and unbeaten in his last 22 matches (his last defeat was the Cincinnati final to Roger Federer in August).
He’s also won 32 of his last 33 sets – Stan Wawrinka the only recent challenger to take a set off him, which came in the Paris semi-finals last week.
Djokovic’s 2015 Grand Slam win-loss is an amazing 27-1. He has made the final of every Grand Slam, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. The French was the only misstep in his quest for the elusive calendar Grand Slam, where Wawrinka outplayed him in four sets and possibly out-dressed him in his now iconic red plaid shorts.
His record against the top four players this year is also impressive. He is 4-2 up on Federer and 6-1 up on Andy Murray. He’s 3-0 up on Nadal and 3-1 up on Wawrinka. Four of Djokovic’s five losses this year has come from this group. The fifth loss of the year came early on in January in Doha to Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who has an impressive 3-1 head-to-head advantage over the Serb number one.
To add to this stellar year is his enormous lead in the rankings points. Djokovic is 6815 points ahead of Murray, the world number two. Oddly, tennis followers marvel at this enormous lead, whereas Serena Williams’s stunning lead over her WTA rivals is disparaged. Djokovic has had a masterful year and his rivals just happen to be quite a long way behind in the points, but Williams’ lead is used to suggest that women’s tennis is boring and one-sided. Funny that.
Looking ahead to next week’s World Tour Finals (WTF) – an unfortunate acronym in my opinion – it is hard to see Djokovic leaving as anything other than the victor. His win-loss indoors this year is an impressive 6-0.
So, who can challenge him in London?
With a tight turnaround to the Davis Cup final just the week after the WTF, Murray is likely to leave something in reserve for his national duties. The Scot has single-handedly reinvigorated British men’s tennis, and after his Olympic gold in London, and his 2013 Wimbledon victory, a Davis Cup title will be a nice jewel in his crown. Obviously this is not to suggest that Murray won’t perform in London, but unlike his other opponents, he is not playing his last serious event of the year.
Djokovic’s closest challengers next week are likely to come from his Swiss opponents, Federer or Wawrinka. Federer has already beaten him twice this year, the first time in Dubai and the other at the aforementioned Cincinnati Masters. Both of Federer’s wins were for titles.
Wawrinka’s biggest upset against Djokovic this year was obviously the final of Roland Garros. Wawrinka posses a stunning one-handed backhand, and is as much loved for this as he is for his ability to go mentally AWOL during a match. But, he did take a set from Djokovic last week in Paris, and the pair battled over five thrilling sets at the Australian and US Opens over the years. If Stan the Man is in the zone he may be a worthy challenger. The problem though is that Djokovic has owned the zone in 2015.
Djokovic first won the WTF in 2008. He has since won the last three. A fourth victory seems almost a certainty, especially after this history-making year. It would undoubtedly be a fitting end to an incredible 12 months.
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