King Djokovic reigns supreme
With three Grand Slam titles, five Masters, a 70-6 winning year and a
record cash haul of 12.6 million dollars, Novak Djokovic was the king of
2011.
Spurred on by leading Serbia to a maiden Davis Cup title at the back
end of 2010, the 24-year-old put together a 43-match winning run in the
first half of 2011.
It was a surge which brought him the Australian Open title in January
and was only ended by a rejuvenated Roger Federer in the semi-finals at
Roland Garros.
As well as claiming a second title in Melbourne, Djokovic won all the
season's opening four Masters at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome,
defeating Rafael Nadal in the finals of all of them.
The Serb then defeated Nadal to win Wimbledon - taking the Spaniard's
world number one spot in the process - before clinching the US Open.
Again Nadal was the vanquished opponent in the final after Djokovic
had defeated Federer from two sets, and two match points down, in a
breathtaking semi-final. Djokovic's landmark season eventually took its
toll with a combination of back and shoulder trouble comdemning him to
four defeats in the year's closing stages.
"I had an unbelievable year. Nothing can really ruin that. I will
always remember this year as the best of my life," he said.
Even John McEnroe, whose season winning record of 82 wins against
just three defeats, set in 1984, was briefly within the Serb's sights
after his US Open victory when he was at 64 wins against two losses, was
in awe.
"He has had the greatest year in the history of our sport," said the
American. Djokovic probably played one of the shots of the year on match
point against Federer at Flushing Meadows when he unleashed an
all-or-nothing forehand service return which left the great Swiss rooted
to the spot.
Federer double-faulted on the second match point and Djokovic was on
his way again.
The figures back up Djokovic's year of dominance. He beat Nadal six
times out of six, Federer four out of five and world number four Andy
Murray, two in three, with the Briton's win coming courtesy of an injury
retirement in the final in Cincinnati.
The world's leading three men have now won 29 of the last 32 Grand
Slam crowns.
Since the start of 2004, only Gaston Gaudio (2004 French Open), Marat
Safin (2005 Australian Open) and Juan Martin del Potro (2009 US Open)
have broken their stranglehold.
Nadal took his majors collection to 10 in 2011 with a sixth French
Open title to equal Bjorn Borg's record Paris haul.
The Spaniard lost his number one spot to Djokovic and cut a jaded,
frustrated figure as the year closed, complaining about player burn-out
and scheduling at the US Open. But claiming the winning point for a
fifth Davis Cup triumph against Argentina in Seville in December at
least breathed new life into the Spaniard. AFP |