2021 Novak Djokovic tennis season

2021 Novak Djokovic tennis season

Full name	Novak Djokovic
Country	Serbia
Calendar prize money	$6,214,456 (singles & doubles)
Singles
Season record	38–5 (88.4%)
Calendar titles	4
Current ranking	No. 1
Ranking change from previous year
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian Open	W
French Open	W
Wimbledon	W
Olympic Games	4th place
Doubles
Season record	4–1 (80.0%)
Current ranking	No. 198
Ranking change from previous year	40
Mixed Doubles
Season record	2–1 (66.7%)
Olympic Games	4th place
Last updated on: 23 August 2021.
← 2020 →

Novak Djokovic began the 2021 tennis season on 2 February 2021, with the start of the ATP Cup.^[1][2][3] In the 2021 season, Djokovic became the second male player in tennis history to win Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard court) in the same calendar year, following Rafael Nadal in 2010. He has won four tournaments, three of them Grand Slams: the Australian Open, the French Open, and the Wimbledon Championships. He has also won the Belgrade Open, an ATP 250 event and reached his first final in a doubles tournament since 2010. During this season, Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer's record number of weeks spent with the ATP No. 1 singles ranking, and tied Federer and Nadal's record total of Grand Slam men's singles titles at 20.

Yearly summary[]

Early hard court season[]

Djokovic was scheduled to appear in an Adelaide exhibition tournament, called "A Day at the Drive". He was supposed to play a match against Jannik Sinner. But, since he had blisters on his hand, he decided to skip the match and prepare for the upcoming ATP Cup and the Australian Open. Fellow Serbian Filip Krajinović played and won the first set of the match, but Djokovic came back to play the second set, in front of fans. Djokovic won the second set, thus winning the match.

ATP Cup[]

Novak Djokovic began his season by taking part in Serbia's national team in the ATP Cup. Looking to defend the past year's title, Serbia met Canada and Germany in the group A. Djokovic defeated Denis Shapovalov, in straight sets, and teamed with Filip Krajinović to defeat Shapovalov and Milos Raonic in the doubles match, to help Serbia defeat Canada in the first tie. However, Serbia's tournament ended with a loss against Germany. Djokovic defeated Alexander Zverev in three sets, but lost the doubles match with Nikola Ćaćić against Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff in the match tiebreak.^[4]

Australian Open[]

After an easy first round win and a second round four-set scare against Frances Tiafoe, he played a five-set thriller against Taylor Fritz, which he won, despite an injury scare. He won the round of 16 and quarterfinal both in four sets, followed by a straight set semifinal. Novak Djokovic continued his dominance at the Australian Open by overwhelming Daniil Medvedev in the final in straight sets. The victory marked his record-extending ninth men's singles title at the major, and also his 18th Grand Slam.^[5]

Indian Wells Masters[]

Indian Wells Masters was scheduled to take place in March 2021 but has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns.^[6]

Miami Open[]

Djokovic withdrew from the 2021 Miami Open, citing a desire to rest after the Australian Open win by spending more time with his family. He also wanted to prepare for the upcoming Clay court season.^[7]

Spring clay court season[]

Monte-Carlo Masters[]

After a straight sets win over Sinner, Djokovic was upset by Dan Evans in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, marking his first loss of the season.

Serbia Open[]

After straight-sets wins over Son-woo Kwon and compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, Djokovic lost in the semifinals of the Serbia Open to Aslan Karatsev in three lengthy sets.^[8]

Italian Open[]

Djokovic started the defense of his Italian Open title with straight sets wins over Fritz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After this, he had an early scare, down a set and a break in a rainy match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The next day, he made a comeback and won. That day, he also won his semifinal in three sets. Djokovic lost to Rafael Nadal in the final in three sets.^[9]

Belgrade Open[]

Djokovic started the Belgrade Open with straight sets wins over Mats Moraing and Federico Coria. After reaching the final with a three set win over Andrej Martin, Djokovic won his 83rd title, at home, defeating Alex Molčan from Slovakia in straight sets.^[10]

French Open[]

Djokovic started with straight set wins in the first three rounds. In the fourth round, Lorenzo Musetti led two sets to love, but Musetti was only able to win one game after that. After a four set win in the quarterfinals, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the semifinals in four sets, only the second time he had beaten Nadal at Roland Garros. He then won against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in five sets, after losing the first two. It was his 19th major title, and he completed a double Career Grand Slam. He became the first player in the Open Era to win a Major after coming back from 0–2 in sets in two separate matches in the same tournament, having done so in the final, as well as in the fourth round against Musetti.^[11]

Grass court season[]

Mallorca Open[]

Djokovic's grass-court season began at the Mallorca Championships, where he competed in doubles alongside Carlos Gómez-Herrera. The team advanced to the final after two three set wins and a straight set win, where they withdrew before the match due to an injury to Gómez-Herrera.^[12]

Wimbledon[]

Djokovic entered Wimbledon as the defending champion from 2019 and the favorite for the title. He won a four-set first round over British world no. 253 Jack Draper. He reached the semifinal with four straight set wins, including those over former runner-up Kevin Anderson and Chilean seed Cristian Garin. He defeated Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals and Matteo Berrettini in the final to claim his sixth Wimbledon title and 20th major title, equaling Roger Federer and Nadal's all-time record.

Late hard court season[]

Tokyo Olympics[]

Djokovic opened his summer hard court season at the Tokyo Olympics, where he sought to improve on his bronze medal result from Beijing 2008. He won his first four rounds in straight sets to reach the semifinals, where he lost to Alexander Zverev.^[13] He then lost his bronze medal match to Pablo Carreño Busta. He also participated in the mixed doubles alongside Nina Stojanović, where the pair lost in the semifinals and withdrew from the bronze medal match. Djokovic thus left the Olympics without any medals.

Remaining schedule[]

A potential victory for Djokovic at the 2021 US Open would see him achieve the calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat in men's singles tennis achieved only by Don Budge in 1938 and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969.

All matches[]

This table lists all the matches of Djokovic this year, including walkovers (W/O)

Singles matches[]

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
ATP Cup Melbourne, Australia ATP Cup Hard, outdoor 2 – 7 February 2021
	1 / 1127	RR	Denis Shapovalov	12	Win	7–5, 7–5
	2 / 1128	RR	Alexander Zverev	7	Win	6–7(3–7), 6–2, 7–5
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 8 – 21 February 2021
	3 / 1129	1R	Jérémy Chardy	61	Win	6–3, 6–1, 6–2
	4 / 1130	2R	Frances Tiafoe	64	Win	6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–2), 6–3
	5 / 1131	3R	Taylor Fritz (27)	31	Win	7–6(7–1), 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–2
	6 / 1132	4R	Milos Raonic (14)	14	Win	7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–1, 6–4
	7 / 1133	QF	Alexander Zverev (6)	7	Win	6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–4, 7–6(8–6)
	8 / 1134	SF	Aslan Karatsev (Q)	114	Win	6–3, 6–4, 6–2
	9 / 1135	W	Daniil Medvedev (4)	4	Win (1)	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
Monte-Carlo Masters Monte Carlo, Monaco ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 12 – 18 April 2021
	–	1R	Bye
	10 / 1136	2R	Jannik Sinner	22	Win	6–4, 6–2
	11 / 1137	3R	Dan Evans	33	Loss	4–6, 5–7
Serbia Open Belgrade, Serbia ATP Tour 250 Clay, outdoor 19 – 25 April 2021
	–	1R	Bye
	12 / 1138	2R	Kwon Soon-woo	85	Win	6–1, 6–3
	13 / 1139	QF	Miomir Kecmanović (8)	47	Win	6–1, 6–3
	14 / 1140	SF	Aslan Karatsev (3)	28	Loss	5–7, 6–4, 4–6
Italian Open Rome, Italy ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 9 – 16 May 2021
	–	1R	Bye
	15 / 1141	2R	Taylor Fritz	31	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–5)
	16 / 1142	3R	Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Q)	48	Win	6–2, 6–1
	17 / 1143	QF	Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)	5	Win	4–6, 7–5, 7–5
	18 / 1144	SF	Lorenzo Sonego	28	Win	6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
	19 / 1145	F	Rafael Nadal (2)	3	Loss (1)	5–7, 6–1, 3–6
Belgrade Open Belgrade, Serbia ATP Tour 250 Clay, outdoor 24 – 30 May 2021
	–	1R	Bye
	20 / 1146	2R	Mats Moraing (LL)	253	Win	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
	21 / 1147	QF	Federico Coria (Alt)	96	Win	6–1, 6–0
	22 / 1148	SF	Andrej Martin (Q)	119	Win	6–1, 4–6, 6–0
	23 / 1149	W	Alex Molčan (Q)	255	Win (2)	6–4, 6–3
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor 30 May – 13 June 2021
	24 / 1150	1R	Tennys Sandgren	66	Win	6–2, 6–4, 6–2
	25 / 1151	2R	Pablo Cuevas	92	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
	26 / 1152	3R	Ričardas Berankis	93	Win	6–1, 6–4, 6–1
	27 / 1153	4R	Lorenzo Musetti	76	Win	6–7(7–9), 6–7(2–7), 6–1, 6–0, 4–0 ret.
	28 / 1154	QF	Matteo Berrettini (9)	9	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5
	29 / 1155	SF	Rafael Nadal (3)	3	Win	3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–2
	30 / 1156	W	Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)	5	Win (3)	6–7(6–8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 28 June – 11 July 2021
	31 / 1157	1R	Jack Draper (WC)	253	Win	4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
	32 / 1158	2R	Kevin Anderson	102	Win	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
	33 / 1159	3R	Denis Kudla (Q)	114	Win	6–4, 6–3, 7–6(9–7)
	34 / 1160	4R	Cristian Garín (17)	20	Win	6–2, 6–4, 6–2
	35 / 1161	QF	Márton Fucsovics	48	Win	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
	36 / 1162	SF	Denis Shapovalov (10)	12	Win	7–6(7–3), 7–5, 7–5
	37 / 1163	W	Matteo Berrettini (7)	9	Win (4)	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan Olympic Games Hard, outdoor 24 July – 1 August 2021
	38 / 1164	1R	Hugo Dellien	139	Win	6–2, 6–2
	39 / 1165	2R	Jan-Lennard Struff	48	Win	6–4, 6–3
	40 / 1166	3R	Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (16)	34	Win	6–3, 6–1
	41 / 1167	QF	Kei Nishikori	69	Win	6–2, 6–0
	42 / 1168	SF	Alexander Zverev (4)	5	Loss	6–1, 3–6, 1–6
	43 / 1169	SF-B	Pablo Carreño Busta (6)	11	Loss	4–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6
US Open New York City, United States Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 30 August – 6 September 2021
	44 / 1170	1R	Holger Rune (Q)	145		N/A

Doubles matches[]

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (Seed or Key)	Ranks	Result	Score
ATP Cup Melbourne, Australia ATP Cup Hard, outdoor 2 – 7 February 2021 Partner: Filip Krajinović (vs. Canada) Nikola Ćaćić (vs. Germany)
	1 / 128	RR	Milos Raonic / Denis Shapovalov	385 / 49	Win	7–5, 7–6(7–4)
	2 / 129	RR	Jan-Lennard Struff / Alexander Zverev	53 / 180	Loss	6–7(4–7), 7–5, [7–10]
Mallorca Championships Santa Ponsa, Spain ATP Tour 250 Grass, outdoor 21 – 27 June 2021 Partner: Carlos Gómez-Herrera
	3 / 130	1R	Tomislav Brkić / Nikola Ćaćić	56 / 45	Win	5–7, 6–4, [13–11]
	4 / 131	QF	Marcel Granollers / Horacio Zeballos (1)	10 / 7	Win	4–6, 7–6(7–3), [10–8]
	5 / 132	SF	Oliver Marach / Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (3)	30 / 55	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
	–	F	Simone Bolelli / Máximo González (4)	54 / 39	Withdrew	N/A

Mixed Doubles matches[]

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (Seed or Key)	Ranks	Result	Score
2020 Summer Olympics Tokyo, Japan Olympic Games Hard, outdoor 28 July – 1 August 2021 Partner: Nina Stojanović
	1 / 1	1R	Luisa Stefani / Marcelo Melo	23 / 18	Win	6–3, 6–4
	2 / 2	QF	Laura Siegemund / Kevin Krawietz	34 / 15	Win	6–1, 6–2
	3 / 3	SF	Elena Vesnina / Aslan Karatsev	56 / 203	Loss	6–7(4–7), 5–7
	–	SF-B	Ashleigh Barty / John Peers	36 / 25	Withdrew	N/A

Exhibition matches[]

Singles[]

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
A Day at the Drive[14] Adelaide, Australia Hard, outdoor 29 January 2021
	1	–	Jannik Sinner	36	Win	6–3

Schedule[]

Per Novak Djokovic, this is his current 2021 schedule (subject to change).^[15][16][17] The ATP Rankings are currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; they are on a Best of 24-month basis through the week of 15 March 2021. Until then, all the events are non-mandatory and players can use the best result from the same event in that 24-month span.^[18]

Singles schedule[]

Date	Tournament	Location	Tier	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Result
2 February 2021– 7 February 2021	ATP Cup	Melbourne (AUS)	ATP Cup	Hard	W	665	140 (665[a])	Round robin ( Serbia lost to Germany, 1–2)
8 February 2021– 21 February 2021	Australian Open	Melbourne (AUS)	Grand Slam	Hard	W	2000	2000	Champion (defeated Daniil Medvedev, 7–5, 6–2, 6–2)
8 March 2021	Indian Wells Masters	Indian Wells (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	3R	45	0 (23[b])	Tournament postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic
15 March 2021– 21 March 2021	Dubai Open	Dubai (UAE)	500 Series	Hard	W	500	0 (500[a])	Withdrew
24 March 2021– 4 April 2021	Miami Open	Miami (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	4R	90	0 (45[b])
12 April 2021– 18 April 2021	Monte Carlo Masters	Monte Carlo (MON)	Masters 1000	Clay	QF	180	90	Third round (lost to Dan Evans, 4–6, 5–7)
19 April 2021– 25 April 2021	Serbia Open	Belgrade (SRB)	250 Series	Clay	NH	N/A	90	Semifinals (lost to Aslan Karatsev, 5–7, 6–4, 4–6)
3 May 2021– 9 May 2021	Madrid Open	Madrid (ESP)	Masters 1000	Clay	W	1000	0 (500[b])	Withdrew
9 May 2021– 16 May 2021	Italian Open	Rome (ITA)	Masters 1000	Clay	W	1000	600	Final (lost to Rafael Nadal, 5–7, 6–1, 3–6)
24 May 2021– 30 May 2021	Belgrade Open	Belgrade (SRB)	250 Series	Clay	NH	N/A	250	Champion (defeated Alex Molčan, 6–4, 6–3)
31 May 2021– 13 June 2021	French Open	Paris (FRA)	Grand Slam	Clay	F	1200	2000	Champion (defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6–7(6–8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4)
28 June 2021– 11 July 2021	Wimbledon	London (GBR)	Grand Slam	Grass	W	2000	2000	Champion (defeated Matteo Berrettini, 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–4, 6–3)
24 July 2021– 1 August 2021	Summer Olympics	Tokyo (JPN)	Olympic Games	Hard	NH	N/A	N/A	4th place (lost to Pablo Carreño Busta, 4–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6)
16 August 2021– 22 August 2021	Cincinnati Masters	Cincinnati (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	W	1000	0	Withdrew
Total year-end points (as of Cincinnati)						9680	8763	917 difference
Total year-end points						12030

Doubles schedule[]

Date	Tournament	Location	Tier	Surface	Prev. result	Prev. points	New points	Result
2 February 2021– 7 February 2021	ATP Cup	Melbourne (AUS)	ATP Cup	Hard	W	120	50 (120[a])	Round robin ( Serbia lost to Germany, 1–2)
8 March 2021	Indian Wells Masters	Indian Wells (USA)	Masters 1000	Hard	SF	360	0 (180[b])	Tournament postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic
21 June 2021– 27 June 2021	Mallorca Open	Santa Ponsa (ESP)	250 Series	Grass	NH	0	150	Final (withdrew)
Total year-end points (as of Mallorca Championships)						480	450	30 difference
Total year-end points						570

Yearly records[]

Head-to-head matchups[]

Novak Djokovic has a 38–5 (88.4%) ATP match win-loss record in the 2021 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP Rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is 8–2 (80.0%). Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:

* Statistics correct as of 31 July 2021.

Finals[]

Singles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)[]

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 2021	Australian Open, Australia (9)	Grand Slam	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	7–5, 6–2, 6–2
Loss	1–1	May 2021	Italian Open, Italy	Masters 1000	Clay	Rafael Nadal	5–7, 6–1, 3–6
Win	2–1	May 2021	Belgrade Open, Serbia	250 Series	Clay	Alex Molčan	6–4, 6–3
Win	3–1	Jun 2021	French Open, France (2)	Grand Slam	Clay	Stefanos Tsitsipas	6–7(6–8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Win	4–1	Jul 2021	Wimbledon, United Kingdom (6)	Grand Slam	Grass	Matteo Berrettini	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)[]

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Walkover	0–1	Jun 2021	Mallorca Open, Spain	250 Series	Grass	Carlos Gómez-Herrera	Simone Bolelli Máximo González	Walkover

Earnings[]

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

• source：2021 Singles Activity
• source：2021 Doubles Activity

See also[]

• 2021 ATP Tour
• 2021 Rafael Nadal tennis season

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official Website
• ATP tour profile