2015 turned out to be a great year for many athletes. But few have had the success Novak Djokovic has.
The Serb has achieved near-everything in 2015, which has turned out to be one of the 10-time Grand Slam champion’s best years so far.
Djokovic has stayed at the top of his fitness, proving difficult for his opponents to beat him, on whatever surface he played. He was playing consistent tennis for the past five years, but 2015 has brought Djokovic to another level altogether.
He started the calender at Doha, where he was upset by the big-serving Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
He then went on to Melbourne,the place where he has had most of his success.The hard courts in Melbourne are something of a dream surface for the Serb, who beat Andy Murray in the finals and collected his fifth Australian Open title and eighth overall.
He played the Dubai Duty Free tournament next, where he made the finals after somewhat of a struggle against World No. 6 Tomas Berdych, against whom he dropped a st. In the finals of the event, he crashed to nemesis Roger Federer.
Later, he won two of the biggest ATP Masters titles at Indian Wells and Miami, defeating Andy Murray and Roger Federer respectively to clinch a second consecutive title at the venue.
In picturesque Monte Carlo, where Djokovic happens to be a resident, the Serb made a perfect start to his clay-court season by becoming the first player ever to win the year's first three Masters tournaments when he added the Monte Carlo trophy to his kitty of titles.
He dealt rival Rafael Nadal a significant psychological blow as he beat the Spaniard, known as the ‘King of Clay’, on his favourite surface in the semi-finals before facing surprise finalist Tomas Berdych, who has tested the World No. 1 on multiple occasions this year.
Ultimately, it was the Serb who triumphed 7-5 4-6 6-3 to take his 23rd Masters Series title.
The Serb’s absence at the Mutua Madrid Open this year paved the way for Andy Murray to win the title.
Djokovic was back on court at the Rome Masters, the final clay court ATP Tournament of the year, where he defeated Roger Federer in straight sets – 6-4, 6-4.
Heading to Roland Garros with an unblemished clay-court record for the season, he had his eyes firmly set on the prize of a maiden crown in Paris. All looked to be going swimmingly as he systematically crushed and then dethroned Nadal yet again, this time in straight sets on an awe-struck Court Philippe Chatrier, inflicting only his second defeat at the tournament in 71 matches - 7-5 6-3 6-1.
The real test for Djokovic came against Andy Murray in an rain delayed five set encounter. He edged the Scot out in the final set, and marched towards his third final in four years. Djokovic went to the final with 28-2 Win-loss record.
the Swiss men Stan Wawrinka, everybody thought that the Serbian is going to crown his maiden title in the French Capital. But Wawrinka’s Scintillating shot making denied the fatigue and exhausted Djokovic once again ,on a hot Paris summer.
Djokovic headed to the historic grass court Tournament, Wimbledon for his third title. He was troubled by the big serving Kevin Anderson in the fourth round, but he won the match in the decisive fifth set. He comfortably reached the final, in-form Roger Federer, the 17 time Grand slam Champion is waiting on the wings. This is the rematch of the last year’s epic final. The relentless Djokovic handled Federer’s varying topspin, slice, serve-and-volley and powerful baseline exchanges with ease. Once again he declined Federer’s long time Grand Slam wait.
With only two losses all year, Djokovic next went to Montreal and was defeated by Andy Murray in an hard fought three-set encounter.
Djokovic won the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, beating Federer in four sets.6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4 at a rain-delayed sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium. This was his 10th Grand Slam title and third title in a calendar year, with the Serb prevented from winning a Calendar Slam by Stan Wawrinka. It’s the second time Djokovic has won 3 of 4 Slams in the year, last achieving the feat in 2011. It was the French Open that had let him down then too, as he crashed out to Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
Djokovic went on to win all the Tournaments he played after the US open.
He defeated Rafael Nadal in Beijing, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Shanghai, Andy Murray in Paris, and then Roger Federer again at the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London. He has a 92-6 overall record in 2015, with three of those defeats against Federer.
He reached the stage called perfection in 2015 – but will he reach the stage called excellence in 2016?
The Serbinator needs to win the French Open and Olympic Gold medal at Rio to reach that stage, and considering his form, it’s quite possible he will do both.
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