The 2023 tennis season was another record-breaking one for Novak Djokovic, and Tracy Austin has picked out one key statistic that she “finds amazing” as it proves the Serbian comes up trumps when the pressure is on.
Djokovic won three Grand Slams this year as he dominated at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open to move to a record 24 majors while he also finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.
He reached eight finals during the 2023 campaign, winning seven of them and he finished the ATP Tour season on a high by lifting a seventh ATP Finals trophy, defeating Jannik Sinner in the final.
After starting the year at No 5 in the ATP Rankings, Djokovic finished the 2023 season as the year-end No 1 for a record-extending eighth time in his career.
Djokovic broke several other records along the way – including becoming the first tennis player, man or woman, to spend 400 weeks at No 1 in the rankings.
Former WTA No 1 Austin believes several of his milestones “might be unreachable” in future.
“What an incredible 2023 Novak Djokovic had. To win three majors in his age-36 year shows that his hunger to excel never lets up,” she told Tennis.com.
“Novak is always looking to make those one-percent improvements: everything from diet, to agility, to strokes like his serve and forehand volleys.
“So, once again, he’s set new records in men’s tennis: 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and eight times finishing the year No 1 in the world. Those are big achievements that might be unreachable.”
Two-time US Open champion Austin also highlighted one key feat from his French Open title run that underlined just how good Djokovic was in clutch moments.
She added: “Amid those lofty numbers, here’s another one from 2023 that I find amazing: At Roland Garros, Novak played six tie-breakers — 55 total points. Not once on those 55 points did he make an unforced error!
“As we know, in tennis, some points are bigger than others. And when it’s most important, Novak just locks down. He’s at the stage now where he’s competing not just versus his opponents, but also against history.”
Djokovic finished the 2023 season with a 56-7 win-loss record while he was 27-1 at the four Grand Slams. Besides his three Grand Slams and the ATP Finals, he also won the Adelaide International, Cincinnati Masters and the Paris Masters.
