Tennis - Exhibition Match - Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - December 27, 2023 Serbia's Novak Djokovic during an interview after the match
Novak Djokovic matched and then surpassed Rafael Nadal’s tally for most Grand Slam titles as youngsters desperately tried to demolish the big-two dominance.
Coming into 2023, the theme, the question was still: can the youngsters match the dominance and supremacy of the big-two comprising Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal? And as the clock ticks down on the year, the answer is an iffy ‘not yet’ but with an asterisk hanging over the ‘big-two’.
Novak Djokovic won three of four majors in the year – the Australian Open, French Open and US Open – and could have, rather should have, achieved a Calendar Slam but for Carlos Alcaraz’s heroics at Wimbledon.
The 36-year-old Serb finished the year as World No 1 for a record eighth time. In late December he began a record-extending 400th week as the top-ranked player in the world – more than 12 years after he jumped to the top spot for the first time. Earlier in the year, he broke Steffi Graf’s record of 377 weeks to become the all-time men’s and women’s leader for most weeks as World No 1 tennis player.
“The drive is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well,” Djokovic said after clinching a record seventh ATP Finals title. “The mindset is the same. I’ll keep going.”
Djokovic’s supremacy over the rest of the field began early in the year when he won the Australian Open and went level with Rafael Nadal on 22 major titles. To highlight his superiority, he did so despite a hamstring tear.
A couple of weeks later, Djokovic surpassed Nadal with a win over a cramping Alcaraz the defining image. The message was loud and clear: a 36-year-old was stronger – mentally and physically – than the stars in their twenties.
But Alcaraz rejuvenated himself and ended Djokovic’s Wimbledon reign in an epic five-setter that was arguably the match of the season. It suggested that a change of the guard was imminent. The control of the ‘big-2’ was being wrestled away.
Those hoping for a radical and quick change would be denied as Djokovic would win the US Open for his 24th major title and romp to win the ATP Finals a few weeks later. Once again, he would highlight his dominance over the youngsters by beating Jannik Sinner in the final.
After a stellar season, Djokovic would target a Golden Slam in 2024 with a gold medal at Paris Olympics. Alcaraz and Sinner would be prime contenders to stop the Serb from achieving it.
In order to extend his Grand Slam tally from two, Alcaraz would need to remain fit and iron out the flaws that saw him lose three of his four matches in 2023 against Novak.
Sinner justified he has the game to beat Djokovic when he did so twice in a single day at the Davis Cup finals, on the way to Italy winning the team competition.
“Djokovic said he was ready to win the four Grand Slams and Olympic gold, but we’re here to stop him,” Alcaraz said during an exhibition event in Mexico, as he looked ahead to an “intense” 2024.
Throughout the entire 2023, and in this recap as well, the asterisk remained over Nadal. The Spaniard played in the Australian Open but suffered a second round exit. That injury-hampered showing would be his last match of the season. With questions lingering over his participation at Roland Garros, the Spaniard would announce he was going to rest his body and target a 2024 return. Additionally, it remains entirely likely that it would be his farewell season.
Seguimos con los entrenamientos 💪🏻 and thanks @EmilRuusuvuori for the practice 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/hvNIrYlE5z
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) December 21, 2023
There are positive updates from the Nadal camp as the 2024 season quickly rushes in on us. The 37-year-old is training with youngsters in preparation for a return to Brisbane International but looks highly improbable that he would match Djokovic’s majors tally.
