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Djokovic Can End Year as World Number One in Men’s Tennis

Djokovic Can End Year as World Number One in Men’s Tennis
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It has been another fantastic year for Novak Djokovic in men’s tennis, with two Grand Slam titles going his way and a runner-up finish at Wimbledon. The Serbian is now back at the top of the ATP world rankings.

With so much to play for until the end of the calendar year, the race to be in the top spot going into 2024 is up for grabs, so Djokovic will need to fight off competition from his rivals.

Djokovic Enjoying the Challenge In 2023

At the age of 36, Djokovic is showing no signs of slowing down in tennis. He has won four titles on the ATP Tour this season. He will be hoping to add to his tally in the US Open where he is the +200 favourite in the betting on tennis market for the Grand Slam tournament.

Djokovic has lifted the trophy three times before at Flushing Meadows in New York, the last time being in 2018. Often, he has gone into this tournament after playing a lot of tennis across the season, but this year he has managed his schedule much smarter.

After losing the world number one spot in 2022 and early 2023, Djokovic has had to lift his game to match his rivals. Just like when he had Roger Federer and more recently Rafael Nadal pushing him at the latter stages of Grand Slam events, the man from Belgrade is relishing the challenge from new rivals this year.

If Djokovic does well at the US Open and the ATP World Tour Finals, a tournament he won for the sixth time last November, he should be able to defend his world number-one ranking at the end of 2023.

Wimbledon Defeat Will Have Hurt Record Holder

Djokovic became the first male singles player to win 23 Grand Slam titles when he won the French Open back in June. On what is arguably his weakest surface, clay, Djokovic was too strong for his rivals in Paris. He lifted the trophy at Roland-Garros for the third time in his career.

After success in the opening two Grand Slam events of the season, Djokovic went into Wimbledon with the Calendar Grand Slam still alive. However, he had to settle for the runner-up spot in London in the grass-court tournament.

His defeat in the 2023 Wimbledon final was his first loss in the tournament since he was eliminated in the quarter-final in 2017 by Tomas Berdych. He reacted in the best possible way on his return to action by winning the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, the perfect warm-up for the US Open.

It remains to be seen how long Djokovic can stay at the top of his sport. Nadal announced earlier this year that he plans to retire in 2024, while Federer was 41 when he bowed out of the game. It looks very likely that when the Serbian does hang up his racquet, he will have broken many records in men’s tennis.

The ATP World Tour Finals is the last major event of 2023, and it will take place in Turin, Italy between November 12-19.

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