Novak Djokovic occupies the second step of the podium with 78.6%. The Serbian champion failed to participate in two of the four Slams and missed the entire US 1000. This has not stopped him from amassing an 11-3 record. The Belgradense is the only one who has reached two figures.
The undefeated win at the ATP Finals was crucial. Rafael Nadal stopped at 72.7 percent and took eight of eleven wins against Top 10 players. The Mallorcan’s season was characterized by ups and downs and a striking number of injuries.
In fourth place, tied at 66.7%, are Stan Wawrinka and Ugo Humbert. Both have faced one of the ten best tennis players on the circuit three times and have won two times. The Swiss and the Frenchman defeated the same rivals, namely Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev.
Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune also finished 2022 with the same success rate against the top 10 (64.3%). The youngest number one in history and the Dane won nine of the fourteen games. Rune, at the 1000 Masters in Paris-Bercy, became the first tennis player capable of stopping five top ten players -Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Djokovic- in the same tournament since 1973.
The latest tennis player to finish his year against the Top 10 on a positive note, with a percentage of 60% (6-4, ed.), goes by the first and last name of Nick Kyrgios. The Australian reached his first Slam final on the slopes of the All England Club last July.
Djokovic is not one to shy away from his goals
Novak Djokovic played intermittently this year due to his stubborn refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. “That was a great way to finish the season. This season has been very challenging for me in many levels.
The way I started was something I never experienced before. So it took me several months really to find a balance on the court mentally, physically, and emotionally, and to really be able to start playing tennis that I want to play,” said Djokovic.
“I wasn’t having the full season, so it was kind of always going back and forth: warming up, preparing and then cooling down. I’m really glad that I was able to play the last several months of the year, to play them in a really high quality tennis style, especially the indoor season,” he added. Novak Djokovic is not one to shy away from his goals. And to him, there is no limit.
