The 2020 tennis year of… Novak Djokovic
A Grand Slam title, two victories at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, qualification as number one in the world: Novak Djokovic shone again in 2020. And will still mourn some missed opportunities.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Dec 30, 2020, 06:16 pm
Everything was arranged for a truly historic year: Novak Djokovic had come into the Corona break unscathed, only Gael Monfils had the industry leader in Dubai on the verge of defeat. The Frenchman could not use his match balls in the semifinals, and went off the court as a loser against Djokovic on the ATP tour Won Australian Open. Yes, in the final he had to make up a 1: 2 set deficit against Dominic Thiem - it was still a long way to a defeat.
At this point, the Adria Tour launched by Djokovic, which the world number one probably launched with the best of intentions, should not be concealed. But after several positive corona cases - including the master himself - came to an abrupt end.
Disqualification against Carreno Busta
Novak Djokovic didn't seem to care when the professional tour returned. At the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which was moved from Cincinnati to New York, he wavered a little in the semifinals against Roberto Bautista Agut, but he didn't file. but won the title in the final against Milos Raonic . And thus each of the nine Masters tournaments at least twice.
So who was going to stop the man from Belgrade? Well, Novak Djokovic took it into his own hands by angrily knocking a ball off himself in the second round of the US Open - and hitting a linesman in the neck. The disqualification was inevitable according to the rule book, Djokovic's winning streak in 2020 came to an unfortunate end after 26 triumphs in a row.
Djokovic awards leadership against Thiem
For the first time in the season on clay, Djokovic did not splash around in Rome, winning the next 1000 tournament in the final against Diego Schwartzman. And only really had to fight against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals during his run into the Roland Garros final. Alone: Rafael Nadal turned out to be too strong in the grand finale for Djokovic, who actually played very well.
He then only added two more tournaments: In Vienna he won the two necessary match victories to safely end the year as number one, mind you for the sixth time. And at the ATP Finals in London, the signs were actually towards at least the final: However, Dominic Thiem made up a 4-0 deficit in the tie-break of the third set, sending Novak Djokovic into the winter break a day earlier than planned. Which, like the months after the US Open, was and is characterized by skirmishes between the ATP and the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) founded by Djokovic. Which is why Novak Djokovic did not return to the ATP players' council (or could return - depending on the reading).
In terms of sport, however, after the possibly not entirely satisfactory result in 2020, the path to victory at the Australian Open 2021 will only lead through Novak Djokovic.