By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 30, 2021
Novak Djokovic captivated the tennis world in 2021 as he perched on the precipice of becoming the first ATP player to complete the calendar Slam since the great Rod Laver in 1969.
The World No.1 saw his quest stopped at the last hurdle by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final, but the mere fact that Djokovic bad become just the fifth man in history to win the first three Grand Slams of a calendar year left us breathless in 2021. It was yet another year of dominance from Novak Djokovic, perhaps his most brilliant to date.
Djokovic’s remarkable 2021 campaign wasn’t all about his Grand Slam quest. Along the way he shattered records at Melbourne, Paris and Wimbledon, as well as tour stops in between.
As part of our 2021 rewind, let’s have a look back at the many incredible statistical milestones that Djokovic achieved.
• Djokovic reached 20 Slam titles, tying Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time men’s singles list.
• Djokovic passed Roger Federer (310) and has now spent more weeks at No.1 than any other ATP player. As of this week he is in week No.349.
• Djokovic recorded his 7th year-end No.1 finish, setting the all-time ATP record.
• By doing so, Djokovic became oldest ATP year-end No.1 in history.
• Djokovic is now the all-time leader in Grand Slam men’s singles titles won after turning 30 with eight.
• By reaching his 10th Grand Slam final since turning 30 at the US Open, Djokovic now has sole ownership of the Open Era record for most Grand Slam final appearances after turning 30 – ahead of Federer, Nadal and Rosewall, who have all reached 8 Grand Slam finals after turning 30.
• Djokovic tied Roger Federer on the all-time men’s singles Grand Slam finals list with 31.
• Djokovic recorded 27 consecutive Grand Slam match wins and became the 5th man in history to win the first 3 Grand Slam tournaments of the season – after Jack Crawford (1933), Don Budge (1938), Lew Hoad (1956) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969).
• Djokovic recorded his record 9th Australian Open title.
• Djokovic became the first man in history to complete two different Australian Open three-peats (also 2011 to 2013).
• Djokovic improved to 18-0 lifetime in Australian Open semifinals and finals.
• Djokovic owns a 12-match winning streak against Top-10 opponents at the Australian Open. He has not lost to a Top 10 opponent in Melbourne since falling to No. 8 Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in 2014.
• Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era to win 3 Australian Open titles after turning 30.
• Djokovic notched the longest winning streak on the ATP Tour in 2021 - it was 22 matches.
• Djokovic went 4-0 in deciding 5th sets in 2021.
• Djokovic went 14-6 after losing first set (vs. 114-156 prior to 2021).
• Djokovic is currently 14-4 vs. Top-10 in 2021 (with Davis Cup still not complete) - more than any other player on tour.
• Djokovic completed his second career Slam by winning Roland Garros. The World No.1 became the first man in the Open Era – and only the 3rd man in history – to win each of the 4 Grand Slam titles twice. Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the only players to have won each Grand Slam on 2 or more occasions.
• Djokovic became the only player to own two victories over King of Clay Nadal at Roland Garros, and the only player to own more than one victory over Nadal in a best-of-five match on clay.
• Djokovic became the 3rd man in history to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same year on multiple occasions after Emerson and Laver. In 2016, he became the first man to complete the Melbourne-Paris double since Jim Courier in 1992.
• Djokovic became the 3rd-oldest man in the Open Era to win the title at Roland Garros, after Andres Gimeno (34 years 306 days) in 1972 and Nadal (34 years 130 days) last year.
• By winning his 2nd title at Roland Garros 5 years after his first, Djokovic has achieved the longest gap between his first and 2nd Roland Garros men’s singles titles in the Open Era.
• At Wimbledon, Djokovic became the first man to win the Wimbledon title after dropping his first set at the tournament since Pete Sampras in 1993.
• Djokovic claimed his 6th Wimbledon title, and claimed sole ownership of 4th place on the all-time list for most Wimbledon men’s singles titles, ahead of Bjorn Borg and Laurie Doherty.
• At 34 years 50 days, Djokovic became the 2nd-oldest man in the Open Era to win the title at Wimbledon.
• By reaching his 7th Wimbledon final, Djokovic has equalled Boris Becker, Arthur Gore and Sampras in 2nd place on the all-time list for most Wimbledon men’s singles finals reached.