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Paris: Novak Djokovic's return to the world number one spot, just five months after slumping to his lowest ranking in 12 years, leaves little doubt that he is one of the sport's greats.
Novak Djokovic at the Paris Masters. AFP
The Serb is back on the top of the stack for the first time in two years, at the end of a roller-coaster season for the 14-time major winner. Djokovic, 31, underwent elbow surgery in the world after a depressing quarter-final exit at Roland Garros in June, which left him threatening to skip Wimbledon.
But he regrouped, broke a fourth Wimbledon title the following month, a 32nd Masters in Cincinnati and a third triumph at the US Open in September. Despite his loss in the final of the Paris Masters to Karen Khachanov on Sunday – which ended a 22-match win streak – his record since the start of Wimbledon stands at 31-2.
"Reflecting on what I've been through the last year, it's quite a phenomenal achievement," said Djokovic, who has knocked out Rafael Nadal from the world's top spot.
"I'm very, very happy and proud about it." Five months ago, it was highly improbable.
Djokovic is now just behind Nadal's total of 17 Grand Slams and six shy of Roger Federer's record of 20. But he has had a great time – Federer has already celebrated his 37th birthday. lifetime 25-22 record over Federer and 27-25 against Nadal.
"Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro after losing to Djokovic in the US Open final.
Djokovic's ability to thrive among the greats has never been in doubt, but the size of his heart often leads to questions in his early days. At Wimbledon in 2007, he retired with a back injury in the third set of his semi-final against Nadal.
He also left the 2006 and 2007 Opens at the third round and quarter-final stages respectively, while at the 2009 Australian Open, where he was defending champion, he pulled out of his quarter-final with Andy Roddick's heat exhaustion.
But nobody could question his courage at the 2012 Australian Open, when he beat Nadal in the longest final Grand Slam of all time, a draining 5hr 53min epic.
Djokovic captured the first of his majors in Melbourne in 2008, but it was three years before he added his second. After leading Serbia to a maiden Davis Cup in 2010, he raced through the first half of 2011, building up a 48-1 winning run. Only a semi-final defeat at the French Grand Slam.
He finished 2011 with a 70-6 win-loss record, a haul of 10 tournament victories and the year-end number one spot for the first time.
Back-to-back Australian Opens followed in 2012 and 2013, with three heart-breaking final defeats kept the French Open frustratingly out of reach until 2016, when his breakthrough win at Roland Garros slam. In Paris that year, he also became the first player to break through the $ 100 million (87.8 million euro) prize money barrier.
Djokovic has also been taking chances and innovating his game, bringing in Boris Becker as part of his coaching team for the 2014 season, with Marian Vajda, a long-time mentor.
Off the court, Djokovic married long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic in July 2014. They have two children, her Stefan and daughter Tara.
However, despite his achievements, Djokovic does not seem to be held in the same warm esteem as Federer and Nadal. There are those who do a little more calculating in the Djokovic make-up.
He was castigated during the 2015 French Open semi-final for taking an eight-minute medical time-out after Andy Murray, and at Indian Wells the next year he was roundly criticized for proposing that men should "fight" to get more prize money than women. "The stats are showing us on the men's tennis matches," he said.
At Wimbledon this year, he hit on the Center Court fans for a perceived lack of respect while schedulers also felt his exile for the Court Two for a third round match.
Despite the doubts, the pleasures were generous on Monday. "What Novak has come up with," said ATP president Chris Kermode.
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