In 2023, Novak Djokovic solidified his dominance in males’s tennis, but followers caught a glimpse of the game’s future leaders when Carlos Alcaraz stopped Djokovic’s Grand Slam sweep and Jannik Sinner delivered a late blow.
Playing a few of his greatest tennis at 36 and having spent a file 400 weeks on the high of the world rankings, Djokovic is poised to pursue a Golden Slam, aiming to win all 4 majors and the Olympic crown in Paris subsequent 12 months.
“The drive is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well,” Djokovic stated after securing his file seventh ATP Finals title. “The mindset is the same. I’ll keep going.”
Djokovic’s supremacy in a unprecedented season helped him equal the injured Rafa Nadal’s tally of twenty-two main titles on the Australian Open with a hamstring tear and surpass his outdated rival on the French Open, defeating a cramping Alcaraz alongside the way in which.
However, a rejuvenated Alcaraz ended Djokovic’s Wimbledon reign in an epic five-setter to say his second Grand Slam title, hinting {that a} change of guard was imminent after almost 20 years of “Big Three” management.
While Djokovic lifted his twenty fourth Grand Slam title on the U.S. Open and secured the year-end No. 1 spot on the ATP Finals, a brand new period should still be on the horizon with the fearless and fast-learning Alcaraz.
The 20-year-old Spaniard wants to remain injury-free and tackle the failings that derailed him in three of their 4 conferences in 2023 to compete with Djokovic.
Sinner emerged as one other potential risk deep into the season, gorgeous Djokovic twice in at some point on the Davis Cup earlier than orchestrating Italy’s triumph.
“Djokovic said he was ready to win the four Grand Slams and Olympic gold, but we’re here to stop him,” Alcaraz stated throughout an exhibition occasion in Mexico final week, waiting for an “intense” 2024.
Nadal, a part of the triumvirate alongside Djokovic and the retired Roger Federer, goals so as to add a ultimate chapter to his glittering however injury-plagued profession in what is probably going his final season on tour.
The Spaniard has not performed since struggling a hip downside on the Australian Open and it will be an enormous shock if he may make up floor on Djokovic within the Grand Slam chase.
In the ladies’s sport, a refreshing distinction to the lads’s, 4 totally different Grand Slam champions had been produced: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff, with the combat for the year-end high rating taking place to the wire.
French Open champion Swiatek returned to her perch to disclaim a vastly improved Sabalenka on the finish of a grueling marketing campaign. Still, she might discover 2024 tougher if Elena Rybakina rediscovers her greatest kind and Ons Jabeur steps up her bid for a primary slam.
Major champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber may even return after their maternity breaks, following within the footsteps of Caroline Wozniacki and including spice to the ultra-competitive area.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
