Novak Djokovic was by far the best player of the 2011 season, winning three Majors and five Masters 1000 tournaments. Novak left all challengers behind, including world no. 2 Rafael Nadal, whom he beat in no fewer than six notable finals, including Wimbledon and the US Open.
Djokovic suffered a back injury at the US Open, struggling a bit in the title clash against Nadal, but still sealing the deal in four sets. The Serbian did not play well the rest of the year, winning six of ten games to stop engines and recharge batteries for 2012.
Both Novak and Rafa were tired at the ATP Finals, unable to get past the round-robin stage and challenge for the title. Asked about his great rival and the fatigue that he mentioned a day before, Djokovic admitted that he completely understands Nadal.
The Serb revealed that he felt tired in the final stages of the season and that he lacked the freshness that he had in the previous nine or ten months. In his last official match of the season, Novak suffered the first loss to Janko Tipsarevic in four meetings against his good friend.
He does not. 1 took the first set, but fell 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and eight minutes to fall further out of the semifinal spot. With that spot on his account, Novak had a chance to advance to the last four and face Roger Federer.
Still, Tomas Berdych beat David Ferrer to join the Spaniard in the semi-finals and leave the Serb empty-handed. Djokovic and Tipsarevic each earned 84 points, with the older Serb playing better in crucial moments. Janko defended two of four break chances and earned four breaks to control the scoring in sets two and three and emerge on top.
Novak claimed the opening set with a break in game four, serving well and hoping for more in set number two. Janko survived the challenging opening game of the second set and traded breaks in games six and seven.
Nole won the 2023 Australian Open
On current form, Novak Djokovic is practically unbeatable, according to former Italian player Giorgio Galimberti.
“He started the year great, objectively how he won the Australian Open I won’t tell you either, hands down. The only problem for the others is Djokovic, if he’s okay he’s unplayable. He won the final with a serious injury. To beat Djokovic there has to be a combination of things: he doesn’t have to be 100% and the opponents have to play the match of their life. He is complete and does everything,” the Italian expressed.
