Novak Djokovic was recently chosen as Tennis Magazine’s Player of the Decade. His rise to stardom begun at the end of the 2010 season when he inspired his country to Davis Cup success in Belgrade.
He went on to achieve greatness in 2011, winning three Grand Slam titles and attaining the World No.1 ranking for the first time in his career.
Djokovic’s decade-long dominance ensured the Federer-Nadal duopoly died on his strings. Between 2010 and2019, the Serbian superstar won the most Grand Slam and tour-level titles. He also reversed the tables in the head-to-head against the pair in his favor.
To celebrate Djokovic’s ten-year run of success and consistency, we have picked ten of his finest wins.
Novak Djokovic: Best 10 wins of the decade
10. Djokovic vs Nadal (Monte Carlo Masters final 2013)
Arguably one of the most underrated victories at Masters 1000 level, Novak Djokovic’s success at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013 ended Rafael Nadal’s eight-year hegemony at the Principality.
The Serb was imperious in the opening set, in which he came mighty close to inflict a bagel to the greatest clay court player of all time. It was a stark contrast in performance for Djokovic, who had struggled in the earlier rounds, dropping the first set in each of his first three matches that week.
His participation at the tournament was in jeopardy due to ankle injury he suffered in a Davis Cup match, The Serb took a calculated decision to play and called it t”he best decision of my life,” as he put a stop to Nadal’s 46-match unbeaten streak and inflicted the first defeat of Nadal in Monte Carlo with a 6-2 7-6 victory.
9. Djokovic vs Nadal (Australian Open final 2019)
Djokovic and Nadal have met 54 times in their careers (the most in the open era), with most of those matches happening in the current decade. Unlike many of their contests which felt more like heavyweight prizefights, this one was a desperately one-sided final.
Nadal had rekindled hope of beating Djokovic on a hard court for the first time in seven matches after sweeping past the pack on his side of the draw. But what transpired in the final was something truly extraordinary.
Djokovic was flawless and Nadal beleaguered, had no place to hide as he suffered his heaviest defeat in a Grand Slam final. Djokovic won 6-3 6-2 6-3 to clinch a record 7th Australian Open title and break a three-man tie with Roger Federer and Roy Emerson to stand as Melbourne’s ultimate King.
Eurosport co-commentator Mats Wilander called Djokovic’s performance “absolute perfection.”
8. Djokovic vs Wawrinka (Australian Open fourth round 2013)
This may have been a fourth round match, but it was quite possibly the highest level of tennis between two players in a long time. The intensity was unreal and If it was a boxing contest, both Djokovic and Wawrinka’s knuckles would have severely bruised at the number of turns they traded full-body blows with their rackets for exactly five hours.
It was Djokovic though who landed the more punishing hits and took advantage of Wawrinka’s sluggishness in the second set (came back from 5-2 down) to win 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 12-10.
Djokovic conceded Wawrinka had outplayed him for most of the night, but he summoned his fighting spirit to overcome the Swiss’ inspired challenge. The victory was certainly substantial as the Serb went all the way to clinch his fourth Australian Open title.
7. Djokovic vs Federer (ATP Finals final 2012)
At No.7 in our list is the final of 2012 Nitto ATP Finals where Novak Djokovic won his second ATP Finals title and his first at London’s O2 Arena, simultaneously ending Federer’s two-year reign at season-ending championships in the English capital with a 7-6 7-5 victory over his Swiss rival.
Djokovic showed remarkable resilience despite trailing in both sets against a Federer who was firing on all cylinders in the final. It was his 75th match win of another impressive year. The Serb failed to replicate his mind-blowing 2011 season in which he captured three Grand Slams, but he still won more matches that year, appeared in three major finals and perhaps significantly, retained his World No.1 ranking after momentarily losing it to Federer.
6. Djokovic vs Nadal (US Open final 2011)
If you were a Djokovic fan, you would have probably watched a re-run of that 2011 US Open final against Nadal a thousand times. The Serb has made seven more trips to Flushing Meadows since that final and I don’t think he has ever hit a tennis ball more clinically and with purpose than he did in 2011 championship match.
And scarily enough, Nadal on the opposite side of the court played incredibly well that night and was eyeing a shot at redemption after losing his previous five meetings against the Serbian in 2011.
Djokovic had saved match points in his semifinal against Federer and he gave a display of breathtaking quality in the final to avenge his 2010 loss to his Spanish rival. It was a year in which Djokovic claimed three major titles and cemented his place as the best tennis player in the world.
5. Djokovic vs Nadal (Wimbledon final 2011)
Novak Djokovic’s path towards greatness began at the 2011 Australian Open, but it was at Wimbledon of that same year where he confirmed his arrival. He wasn’t just the man to beat in 2011, but to put it mildly, he was unbeatable.
Djokovic’s Wimbledon win in 2011 makes out top five list. He scored his first Grand Slam victory over Nadal in their head-to-head. It was a final of slightly lesser quality but comparable intensity to their US Open meeting that year.
The man from Belgrade had already dethroned Nadal from the summit of men’s tennis following his semifinal victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and even if he had lost the final he would still have remained as No.1.
But Djokovic was not overwhelmed by the occasion nor the opponent as he swatted Nadal aside in four sets under the watching eyes of his then country’s president, Boris Tadic.
Did you know: Djokovic is the first and thus far only Serbian man to win Wimbledon. With his 2011 victory, he ended Nadal’s 20-match winning streak at the All-England Club, and became the first player in seven years not named Federer or Nadal to become World No.1.
4. Djokovic vs Federer (Wimbledon final 2014)
At No.4 is Novak Djokovic’s five-set win in 2014 Wimbledon final. He beat Roger Federer 6-7 6-4 7-6 5-7 6-4 to clinch his second title at the lawns of SW19. This was an emotional victory so to say as it ended his losing run at Major finals. Djokovic admitted after the match, it was his most special Grand Slam victory of his career, and he was right.
Djokovic had lost in seven Major finals ahead of this Wimbledon match against Federer and he was stuck on six titles. He had failed to conquer Nadal in Paris just a few weeks earlier, and after losing championship point in the fourth set in the final against the Swiss, he could have easily imploded in the fifth. Except that desperation and pressure lifted the Serbian star to overcome his Grand Slam burden and triumph for the second time at Wimbledon.
Did you know: With his five-set victory in the 2014 Wimbledon final, Djokovic ended a run of three straight Grand Slam final defeats he had played in at the time, the longest winless run in his career.
3. Djokovic vs Murray (French Open final 2016)
Novak Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam after beating Andy Murray in the 2016 French Open final. Just 12 months earlier, he was distraught and a chastening loss to Wawrinka drove him to tears, perhaps contemplating the thought his chances of winning the Coupe des Mousquetaires could be running out.
Djokovic though did not flinch at the fourth time of asking. Nadal withdrew due to injury. Federer pulled out before the tournament and Wawrinka was conquered by Murray who at the time was playing immaculate tennis on clay. The Scot played superbly to win the first set, but after failing to convert a break point in the second set, it was Djokovic who took control of the contest and eventually won 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4.
Did you know: Djokovic’s success at the French Open in 2016 made him only the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. More remarkable, he became the third man after Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969 to hold all four of the major singles titles at the same time.
2. Djokovic vs Nadal (Australian Open final 2012)
At no.2 in our list is the longest Grand Slam final in tennis history and that was won by Novak Djokovic. The Serbian gladiator beat aching limbs and the ultimate tennis marathoner in Nadal to win a stunning heavyweight contest 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes. It remains the longest match in Australian Open history, beating Nadal’s five hours and 14 minutes semifinal win over Verdasco in 2009.
So often, a long match doesn’t necessarily follow the idea that the equality was high. But not the Australian Open final in 2012 which was full of breathtaking points.
Djokovic had developed into being Nadal’s ‘kryptonite’ at the start of the decade, and everything the Spaniard did, Djokovic had an emphatic answer. The pair went into Iron Man territory in this final, but it was Djokovic who was the last man standing.
Did you know: Nadal was 133-1 in Grand Slam matches after winning the first set before this match. But Djokovic changed that stat and won the longest Grand Slam final in history.
1. Djokovic vs Federer (Wimbledon final 2019)
At the top of the list is a Wimbledon final that needs no introduction. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were set for a mouthwatering collision for the third time in Wimbledon final. It was an intesne dog-foght that turned into a tug of war. Federer ultimately won 14 more points than points that Djokovic, fired 15 more aces and 40 more winners. He broke the Serbian’s serve seven times, and only conceding three breaks himself. The Swiss served for the match at 8-7 in the fifth and held two championships points. But Djokovic still won the match.
It was the first Wimbledon singles final to be decided by the newly-introduced fifth-set tiebreak at 12-all and it was Djokovic who was victorious by unique scoreline of 7-6 1-6 7-6 4-6 13-12.
With this memorable win, Djokovic was part of two of the longest Grand Slam finals and won them both.
Did you know: Novak Djokovic is the only player to record multiple victories over Roger Federer at Wimbledon. He beat the legendary Swiss in all three Wimbledon finals they played.
