Novak Djokovic dominated the first three Grand Slam tournaments at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but Danil Medvedev was crowned as a new Grand Slam champion at the US Open. Three players won a Masters 1000 title for the first time in their careers: Hubert Hurkacz in Miami, Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo and Cameron Norrie in Indian Wells. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev won two Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Cincinnati, as well as a Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The ATP best player of the year: Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic won three Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He was also triumphant at his home tournament in Belgrade and at the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 tournament. He was awarded the year-end ATP Tour trophy by ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi during the ATP Finals.
Djokovic became the first player since legend Rod Laver in 1969 to win the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. He also became the fifth man in history to achieve the “Channel Slam”, by winning both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same Calendar Year.
At Roland Garros Djokovic came back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6-8) 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-4. Only five players before him in the Open Era had recovered from two sets down to win a Grand Slam final. Djokovic also became the first man to win all Grand Slam titles twice in the Open Era.
“I could not be happier and more satisfied with this kind of scenario in the last 48 hours. It probably ranks at the top three all-time achievements and experiences that I had in my professional tennis career”, he said following his win at the French Open.
Djokovic lost in the semifinals of the Olympic Games to eventual champion Alexander Zverev and to Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match. Later in the year, the Serbian star beat Matteo Berrettini in the quarter finals of the US Open in a re-match of the Wimbledon final. The World number 1 then avenged his defeat in the Olympic semifinal against Zverev in the semifinal. However, Djokovic lost to Danil Medvedev in straight sets in the New York final, ending his chances of winning the Grand Slam.
At the Rolex Paris Masters Djokovic beat Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinal en route to the final, securing the year-end world number 1 ranking for the seventh time, breaking a tie with Pete Sampras. He avenged his US Open defeat to Medvedev to win his sixth title in Bercy and a record 37th Masters 1000 title, breaking the tie with Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic was pursuing a record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, but he lost to Zverev in the semifinal, after winning all three matches in the round robin group.
“It feels amazing and it feels even better when you win a match and then you get your hands on the trophy that I have been blessed to lift seven times. I have one more than Pete Sampras, who was my childhood hero. He was the one that got me into tennis. He was also an inspiration to me and I dreamt of being a Wimbledon champion and world number 1 like he was”, said Djokovic.
The Master of the Year
Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev crowned a perfect season by winning the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time in his career in Turin after a 6-4 6-4 win over defending champion Danil Medvedev. The German player beat Djokovic in three sets in the semifinal and Medvedev in the championship match, becoming just the fourth player in ATP Finals history to beat the top 2 players in the semifinal and the final in the same edition. In the Turin final Zverev repeated his 2018 feat of overturning a defeat in the round robin group against the player he faced in the final.
“It was great. I won the Nitto ATP Finals, against someone I had lost five times in a row, so I had to play one of my best matches. It is special, and I am thrilled and happy right now. There is no better now. There is no better way to end the season than winning here”, said Zverev.
The German also won the Olympic singles gold medal by beating Karen Khachanov in Tokyo. He went a set and a break down against Djokovic in the semifinal but rallied to break back and won eight consecutive games en route to winning the match in straight sets.
At Masters 1000 level Zverev won two titles at the Madrid Mutua Open beating Matteo Berrettini and at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati beating Andrey Rublev. He also claimed two ATP 500 titles in Acapulco and Vienna.
Zverev is the first German player to finish in the top 3 since Boris Boris in 1994.
