Novak Djokovic dominates his opponents on the court and the statistics back up the belief that he is in a league of his own.
The world No 1 ended 2023 as the undisputed king of the men’s game, as he claimed three Grand Slam titles and clinched the year-end world No 1 ranking before claiming victory at the end-of-season ATP Finals.
There is no doubt that Djokovic will be the man to beat when the Australian Open kicks off the 2024 tennis season with a bang, with his record against players at the top of the game making for impressive reading.
Djokovic finishes the tennis year with a 22-9 winning record against players ranked in the top five of the ATP rankings, with that list currently including Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev.
The Serbian’s record improves again when the statistics stretch to players currently ranked in the top ten of the ATP rankings, with spreads Djokovic’s results to matches against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz.
His overall career record against that wider collection of players stands at an impressive 59-17.
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Add in the next five players in the world rankings – Casper Ruud, Alex De Minaur, Tommy Paul, Grigor Dimitrov and Karen Khachanov and that record stretches to 87-19 in Djokovic’s favour.
By contrast, Alcaraz has a 10-9 winning record against players ranked in the top five, he has a 24-14 winning record against players currently ranked in the top ten and a 38-17 winning margin against players in the top 15.
That is a superb record for a player who is still working to erase some early defeats in his career when he was still climbing up the tennis ladder.
Medvedev also has a winning record against top five opponents, with his statistics reading 21-18 against the elite players in the game.
Those three are in a league of their own as Sinner has a 12-16 losing record against the current top five players and a 20-30 losing record against top ten opponents.
No other player in the current top 15 of the ATP rankings has a winning record against the game’s current top five, with Djokovic’s aura adding to his dominance when the game’s top players are contesting the biggest matches.
“I want them to feel that kind of pressure. When they play me, I want them to feel that it’s going to require the best tennis from them in order to win against me,” said Djokovic last month.
“That’s what I want my opponents to feel, no doubt, because that helps mentally coming into the match.
“I think the more I win on the biggest stage, the more this kind of aura grows, and I’m glad for it, no doubt. Of course, that’s not going to win you the match, but it might give you the little percentage, the little edge.”
He also gave his verdict on who will eventually succeed him at the top of the men’s game as he added: “Rune, Alcaraz and him are the big three, next big three if you want to call them. They are going to carry this sport.
“I will hang on for as long as I feel like hanging on, as long as I’m able to win against them on the big stage, I’ll still keep going because why stop if you’re still winning the biggest titles.
“Once they start to kick my butt, then I will consider probably having a little break or maybe a permanent break from professional tennis.”
