The best player of the season: Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic clinched the ATP Year-End Number 1 Trophy for a record eighth time during the year-end Finals in Turin. The Serbian star claimed a record seventh Nitto ATP Finals after beating local favorite Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 in the championships match.
Djokovic led the Tour in titles won with seven trophies, the most he has claimed in a season since 2016. He won three Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open. Two Masters 1000 titles in Cincinnati and Paris Bercy, as well as an ATP 250 title in Adelaide. He has been ranked number 1 for a record total of more than 400 weeks in 13 different years.
Last November he became the first player in singles to reach 400 weeks at number 1. He is the all-time leader for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles in history with 24 Major trophies and claimed his third Roland Garros title in 2023 to become the first man to win each Grand Slam tournament at least three times. He has claimed a record ten Australian Open titles and is one of three men to hold all four Grand Slam championships at the same time after Don Budge and Rod Laver.
Novak Djokovic: “Finishing the season as number 1 in the world is a dream of every tennis player. It’s one of the most difficult achievements in our sport. Winning Grand Slams and being number 1 in the world are probably the pinnacle of our sport. It’s one of the best seasons I have had in my life. To crown it with a win against a hometown hero (Sinner), who has played amazing tennis, is phenomenal. I am very proud of the performances against Alcaraz and Sinner, probably the best two players world next to me and Medvedev at the moment. The way they have been playing, I had to step it up”.
Carlos Alcaraz
Embed from Getty ImagesCarlos Alcaraz won six ATP Tour titles at Wimbledon (Grand Slam), Indian Wells and Madrid (ATP Masters 1000), Barcelona and Queen’s (ATP 500) and Buenos Aires (ATP 250). He beat seven-time champion Djokovic in five sets in the Wimbledon final to claim his second Grand Slam singles title, becoming the third Spanish player to win the Wimbledon title after Manolo Santana (1966) and Rafael Nadal (2008 and 2010).
Alcaraz won his third Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, breaking Danil Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak, and becoming the first player to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017. During the European clay season, he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in Barcelona to defend his title without dropping a set. The Spaniard won his tenth career title at the Madrid Mutua Open, defeating German lucky loser Jan Lennard Struff.
Alcaraz beat Alex De Minaur in the Queen’s final to claim his first title on grass in his third tournament over this surface. At Wimbledon Alcaraz beat Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in an epic five-set final. Becoming the second player after Andy Murray to beat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final and the fifth player in the Open Era to win multiple major titles before turning 21.
Carlos Alcaraz: “It’s a dream come true for me to be able to play on these stages. It’s amazing for a 20-year-old boy to reach this kind of situation really fast. I am really proud of myself, the team that I have and the work we put in every day. As I said before, of course it’s great to win, but even if I had lost, I would be really proud of myself with this amazing run: making history in this beautiful tournament, playing a final against a legend of our sport”.
The most improved players of the year
Jannik Sinner
Embed from Getty ImagesJannik Sinner won a career-best four titles in six finals and achieved a career-high eight top 10 wins going into the Nitto ATP Finals. The 22-year-old tennis star earned a personal best of 61 wins in 2023, setting the record for most match wins by an Italian player in a single season in the Open Era. Sinner’s season was highlighted by his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto where he beat Alex De Minaur in the final. He also won two ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Vienna, defeating Medvedev in both finals. He improved his head-to-head record against Medvedev to 2-6. He moved up to world number 4 to become the second Italian player in the history of the ATP Rankings to reach the top 5, equalling Adriano Panatta.
At the Erste Bank in Vienna, he scored his 55th match win of the season over Andrey Rublev to reach his fourth ATP 500 career final. Sinner became the first Italian player with the most match wins for a season in the Open Era, surpassing Corrado Barazzutti’s 54 wins in 1978.
He beat Djokovic 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) in the round-robin stage at the Nitto ATP Finals, achieving his fifth top-5 win in a row. Djokovic won the re-match against Sinner 6-3 6-3 in the final.
Sinner ended Djokovic’s 19-match winning streak, which dated back to his win over Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournament last August.
Jannik Sinner: “It means a lot to me to beat Djokovic for the first time. Winning against the world number 1, who has won 24 Grand Slams, is at the top of my career results. I felt like it was a really tactical match and I managed to win, so I am very happy. I believe Djokovic makes me a better player, like all the other players have done who I lost to. I now have to work on this. One of the things where I can be happy is that I played many important matches in the biggest stadiums we have throughout the whole year. This is something that hopefully can help for the next season. Especially in the second half of the season I was much stronger mentally”.
Matteo Arnaldi
Embed from Getty ImagesMatteo Arnaldi climbed from world number 134 to inside the top 50 in the ATP Rankings. The 22-year-old Italian won three ATP Challenger titles in Tenerife, Murcia and Heilbronn. He came through the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw in Dubai, Barcelona, Madrid, Wimbledon, Toronto and Beijing. During the summer Arnaldi advanced to his first ATP Tour semifinal in Umag before beating Arthur Fils and Cameron Norrie to reach the Round of 16 at the US Open. Arnaldi beat Alexei Popyrin to help Italy win the first Davis Cup title since 1976.
Matteo Arnaldi: “I dedicate the victory to my girlfriend’s father, who died some weeks before the Davis Cup Final. He was very important for me and my girlfriend”.
The comeback of the season
Alexander Zverev
Embed from Getty ImagesAlexander Zverev rolled his ankle in the second set of his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal at the 2022 French Open after 3 hours and 12 minutes. He tore all three lateral ligaments and was rolled off the court in a wheelchair.
One year later Zverev beat Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the quarter-final to reach the semifinal at Roland Garros for the third consecutive year. Zvevev lost to Casper Ruud in straight sets in the semifinal. He beat Sinner in a five-set fourth-round match after 4 hours and 40 minutes at the US Open before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Zverev won two ATP Tour titles in Hamburg and Chengdu and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The German recorded two of his four top 10 wins on the year against Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev.
Alexander Zverev: “After the injury last year, it’s an achievement for me to be back in Turin, to be back with the top players”.
Gael Monfils
Embed from Getty ImagesGael Monfils came back after being sidelined by injuries for four months. Monfils beat Pavel Kotov 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to become the oldest BNP Paribas Nordic Open champion in Stockholm tournament history. He entered the Swedish tournament at world number 140 in the ATP Rankings.
The French veteran won the Stockholm title for the second time in his career after his triumph in 2011. He became just the fourth player to win an ATP Tour event at the age of 37 or above since 1990. Joining Roger Federer, Ivo Karlovic and Feliciano Lopez. He climbed 50 spots to reach the top 90 in the ATP Ranking.
Monfils beat top 25 players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex De Minaur, Cameron Norrie, Alexander Bublik and Adrian Mannarino during a successful 2023 season.
Monfils’ wife Elina Svitolina gave birth to their daughter Skai Monfils on 15 October 2022.
Gael Monfils: “It’s the first title I have won a title as a father. My daughter is very special”.
The breakthrough of the season
Ben Shelton
Embed from Getty ImagesReigning NCAA singles champion Ben Shelton reached the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at the Australian Open last January. The former Florida Gator athlete became the first US player to advance to a Grand Slam quarter-final since Andy Roddick at the 2002 US Open.
At the US Open Shelton beat his compatriots Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal in his fifth appearance at a Majors tournament before losing to eventual champion Djokovic in three sets.
Shelton reached the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 for the first time at the Shanghai Rolex Masters by beating Jannik Sinner, achieving the biggest win of his career. Shelton also won his first ATP title in Tokyo and helped Team World win its second straight Laver Cup title in Vancouver.
Shelton is the son of former professional tennis player and Florida Gators men’s tennis coach Bryan Shelton. His mother Lisa Witsken Shelton was a highly-ranked junior tennis player. His uncle Todd Witsken was a professional tennis player. His sister Emma played college tennis at Florida. Shelton was born in Atlanta (Georgia).
Ben Shelton: “I learned a lot of things, going to so many different countries and playing on different surfaces and just being exposed to different things. I know that it’s something where there is going to be a little of a learning curve”.
Christopher Eubanks
Embed from Getty ImagesUS tennis player Christopher Eubanks broke into the top 100 for the first time with a quarter-final in Miami and won his first ATP 250 title in Mallorca. Last July Eubanks beat Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas to his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon.
The Newcomer of the Year: Hamad Medjedovic
Embed from Getty ImagesHamad Medjedovic capped his breakthrough season by winning the Next Gen ATP Finals title in Jeddah. The Serbian player recovered from squandering two match points in the fourth set to beat Arthur Fils 3-4 (6-8) 4-1 4-2 3-4 (9-11) 4-1 in the championships match.
Medjedovic’s title crowned a very successful season for Serbian tennis after Djokovic’s win at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Hamad Medjedovic: “Two of us from Serbia. He (Djokovic) won the big Masters, the real one, and I won the Next Gen. Obviously it’s a huge thing and I am happy to follow in his footsteps in some way”.
Medjedovic has been inspired by Djokovic, Viktor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic since he was a kid. Troicki has guided Medjedovic to a career-high of world number 102 in the ATP Rankings. During a successful 2023 season, Medjedovic reached tour-level semifinals in Gstaad and Astana. He also won three ATP Challenger Tour titles before his triumph at the Next Gen Finals.
“It was a big thing for sure growing up, having so many players in our country. I remember starting to watch tennis when I was a kid. We had Djokovic, Troicki and Tipsarevic. They were so good. I remember watching them constantly. As a kid, it gave me a lot of motivation to start playing tennis and then to become one of them because I saw that they could do it. They are coming from a small country, same as me, and it gave me a lot of motivation and self-belief that I could do it as well”, said Medjedovic.
Arthur Fils
Embed from Getty ImagesArthur Fils started the 2023 season outside the top 250 in the ATP Rankings, but he reached his career-high number 36 after advancing to the final in Antwerp. He claimed the first tour-level title in Lyon to become the youngest champion on the ATP Tour in 2023 as a wild card.
Fils reached a career-high number 46 on 7 August after advancing to the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Hamburg. He beat number 4 seed Ruud in the German tournament to achieve the biggest win before losing to eventual champion Zverev.
This year Fils became the youngest Frenchman to reach an ATP Tour semifinal since Richard Gasquet in 2004 in Montpellier.
Fils won his first nine matches of the 2023 season on the ATP Challenger Tour. He clinched a title in Oeiras and advanced to two ATP 250 semifinals in Montpellier and Marseille. He finished runner-up to Hamad Medjedovic at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
The matches of the year
Djokovic beats Alcaraz 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-4) in the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000
Embed from Getty ImagesDjokovic came back from a set and a break down to beat Alcaraz 5-7 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-4) after 3 hours and 49 minutes in one of the best matches of the year at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournament. It was the longest best-of-three final in ATP Tour history. Djokovic won the 39th Masters 1000 title of his career and his 95th career title.
Djokovic saved a championship point at 5-6 in the tie-break of the second set to force the match to the decisive set after winning a 25-shot rally.
Djokovic converted his fifth break point chance to take a 4-3 lead in the third set. The Serbian player squandered two match points while he was returning at 5-3. Alcaraz fended off two more match points and broke serve when Djokovic missed an overhead for 5-5. Djokovic sealed the tie-break when Alcaraz’s forehand return went wide.
Novak Djokovic: “It was definitely one of the toughest matches I have ever played in my life, regardless of what tournament, what category, what level and what player. It’s unbelievable. From the beginning until the end we have both been through so much, so many ups and downs, incredible points, poor games, heat strokes and coming back. I was never in doubt that I could deliver the A game when it mattered most and I am just thrilled”.
Alcaraz beats Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 Wimbledon final
Alcaraz recovered from a set down to beat Djokovic 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 after 4 hours and 43 minutes in the Wimbledon final. Alcaraz won his first title at Church Road and his second Grand Slam trophy following his triumph at the 2022 US Open. Alcaraz became the third youngest player to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title behind only Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg. He is the first player to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon in a decade since Andy Murray in the 2013 final.
Djokovic raced away with the first set 6-1 in 34 minutes. Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s serve early in the second set to open up a 2-0 lead. Djokovic broke straight back. The second set went to a tie-break. Alcaraz won the tie-break 8-6 to level the match. Djokovic had won his previous 14 tie-breaks at Grand Slam tournaments, but Alcaraz put an end to that streak.
Alcaraz earned an early break at the start of the third set. The Spaniard converted his seventh break point after a 27-minute game to win the third set 6-1.
Djokovic converted his second break point at 2-2 in the fourth set when Alcaraz hit the drop shot into the net. The Serbian player sealed the fourth set to send the match into a fifth set.
Djokovic wasted a break point for 2-0 at the start of the fifth set. Alcaraz broke serve in the third game and served out for the win to claim his first Wimbledon title when Djokovic’s forehand dropped into the net.
Carlos Alcaraz: “It’s a dream come true for me. It’s great to win even if I had lost I would have been really proud of myself, playing a final against a legend of the sport”.
Sinner beats Djokovic 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) Round robin Nitto ATP Finals
Embed from Getty ImagesSinner beat Djokovic 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-2) in 3 hours and 8 minutes to win his first match in their four head-to-head matches, ending Djokovic’s 19-match winning streak that stretched back to his five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in last July’s Wimbledon final.
Sinner scored his second career win over a reigning number 1 player after beating Alcaraz in the semifinals of the Miami Masters 1000 tournament last March.
There was little to separate Sinner and Djokovic in a match where both players won the same number of points (109 to 109). Sinner earned a late break in the eleventh game en route to winning the first set 7-5.
Sinner hit a forehand return winner to break for 4-2, but Djokovic pulled back on serve in the next game breaking for the first time in the match. Sinner raced out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back in the tie-break of the third set.
Djokovic had beaten Sinner in their previous three head-to-head matches in Monte-Carlo 2021, in the Wimbledon quarter-final in 2022 and in the Wimbledon semifinal in 2023.
Sinner is the only player this year to score wins over Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Danil Medvedev, the top 3 players in the ATP Ranking.
Jannik Sinner: “I was really brave and intelligent in important moments, especially in the third set. I felt we were both serving really well so there were not so many exchanges, but when the exchanges were played, we both played really well. That was a really high-level match”.
The best doubles team of the season
Embed from Getty ImagesRajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury won their second consecutive doubles title at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin after beating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3 6-4. Ram and Salisbury extended their winning streak at the Turin Pala Alpitour to ten consecutive matches. They held a 20-16 win-loss record this season before the US Open, but they bounced back successfully by winning the US Open title. They have won 17 of their 19 ATP Tour-level matches since their triumph in New York. During the European indoor season, they won in Vienna and reached the semifinal in Paris Bercy.
Rajeev Ram: “We love Turin. This is the biggest tournament we play on the ATP calendar all year and to win it twice is something I would never have thought of and I am so proud of”.
The best team of the year: Italy
Embed from Getty ImagesItaly won their first Davis Cup title since 1976 after beating Australia 2-0 in the championships match in Malaga. Matteo Arnaldi saved eight break points across four of his five service games in the decisive set to beat Alexey Popyrin 7-6 2-6 6-4 in the first match. Jannik Sinner crowned a successful season with a 6-3 6-0 win over Alex De Minaur in the second match to earn the decisive 2-0 win for the Italian team. Sinner improved his career head-to-head series against De Minaur to 5-0.
Sinner won his fifth consecutive match of the Davis Cup Finals week across both singles and doubles matches. The Italian star has beaten nine top 10 players since September. In the semifinal against Serbia Sinner became the first player to beat Novak Djokovic in a Davis Cup singles match since Juan Martin Del Potro. Sinner saved three consecutive match points in the third set to become only the fourth player to beat Djokovic from match points down.
Sinner also became only the third player ever to beat Djokovic twice in twelve days after Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Sinner teamed up with Lorenzo Sonego in the decisive doubles match, beating Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic to win the tie and help Italy reach the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1998.
Jannik Sinner: “It has been an incredible feeling for all of us and obviously we are really happy. We kept together everything and obviously yesterday we went from one point away from being out and now we can celebrate the win. I think we can be very happy”.
