Hitman
Bionic Poster
Among all the crazy crowning achievements that Djokovic has put together - The slam record, the masters record, the career double golden masters record, the most weeks at number one record, the most year ending number ones record, the NCYGS, the Career Slam, the channel slam....being the first to achieve the Double Career Slam across three surfaces was a truly historic moment in professional tennis. We are going to take a fascinating look back at the incredible run that made this happen.
The slam sequence
AO 2008
AO 2011
W 2011
USO 2011
W 2014
USO 2015
RG 2016
RG 2021
AO 2008
Novak Djokovic arrived into the 2008 season as quite clearly the third best player in the world, after an incredible breakthrough year in 2007, in which he reached his first big final in IW, then followed it up by winning Miami and Montreal, and reaching the USO final, Novak was ready at the age of 20 to take that next big step and become a grand slam champion. In 2007, he lost all four slams to either one of Federer or Nadal, and even won his two big titles that year by going through first Nadal in Miami and then both Nadal and Federer in Montreal back to back, combined that with beating Roddick the then number three in the world, Djokovic had beaten the world number 3, world number 2 and world number 1 in succession.
AO surface in 2008 had a complete overhaul, gone was the rebound ace surface of the past and in came the plexicushion surface....a surface that Novak Djokovic was going to make his own in the coming years. Novak was in devastating form from the very start, hyper aggressive, not dropping a set as he marched his way towards a clash with Federer in the semis, the re-match of not only last year's AO, but of the last grand slam final at the USO. Federer was suffering the effects of a bout of mono in 2008, however that didn't stop the champion from making it to the semis, he willed out some tough wins, especially in the third round to get to the semi. With Tsonga already waiting in the final after disposing of Nadal in the most sensational way possible, both Federer and Djokovic knew that there was a first time slam finalist awaiting the winner of their match.
Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets, ending his two year reign in Melbourne. Federer had made an incredible 10 slam finals in a row, stretching all the way back to Wimbledon 2005, before losing to Novak, however not to be sidelined, Federer then made yet another 8 slam finals in a row after this loss....all in all Federer made 18 out of 19 slam finals during this period, with only this loss to Novak being the one where he was stopped. Novak himself began his own unique streak which still stands to this very day....that win was the first of his 9 wins at the semi final stage of AO, and as of this post, he stands at an incredible 9-0.
In the final, he faced an inspired Tsonga, who carried the momentum over of having beaten Nadal, and lost his first set and only set of the tournament. Novak found his groove from the second set on, a much more controlled aggressive gameplan saw him overcome the charismatic Frenchman in four sets to claim his first ever AO title.
Novak Djokovic had finally become a grand slam champion.
It would be a while before Novak found himself in the winner's circle again, he would have to wait three years, but little did anyone know that what was about to come was going to change the face of professional tennis forever.....
Up next, the second slam - AO 2011
The slam sequence
AO 2008
AO 2011
W 2011
USO 2011
W 2014
USO 2015
RG 2016
RG 2021
AO 2008
Novak Djokovic arrived into the 2008 season as quite clearly the third best player in the world, after an incredible breakthrough year in 2007, in which he reached his first big final in IW, then followed it up by winning Miami and Montreal, and reaching the USO final, Novak was ready at the age of 20 to take that next big step and become a grand slam champion. In 2007, he lost all four slams to either one of Federer or Nadal, and even won his two big titles that year by going through first Nadal in Miami and then both Nadal and Federer in Montreal back to back, combined that with beating Roddick the then number three in the world, Djokovic had beaten the world number 3, world number 2 and world number 1 in succession.
AO surface in 2008 had a complete overhaul, gone was the rebound ace surface of the past and in came the plexicushion surface....a surface that Novak Djokovic was going to make his own in the coming years. Novak was in devastating form from the very start, hyper aggressive, not dropping a set as he marched his way towards a clash with Federer in the semis, the re-match of not only last year's AO, but of the last grand slam final at the USO. Federer was suffering the effects of a bout of mono in 2008, however that didn't stop the champion from making it to the semis, he willed out some tough wins, especially in the third round to get to the semi. With Tsonga already waiting in the final after disposing of Nadal in the most sensational way possible, both Federer and Djokovic knew that there was a first time slam finalist awaiting the winner of their match.
Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets, ending his two year reign in Melbourne. Federer had made an incredible 10 slam finals in a row, stretching all the way back to Wimbledon 2005, before losing to Novak, however not to be sidelined, Federer then made yet another 8 slam finals in a row after this loss....all in all Federer made 18 out of 19 slam finals during this period, with only this loss to Novak being the one where he was stopped. Novak himself began his own unique streak which still stands to this very day....that win was the first of his 9 wins at the semi final stage of AO, and as of this post, he stands at an incredible 9-0.
In the final, he faced an inspired Tsonga, who carried the momentum over of having beaten Nadal, and lost his first set and only set of the tournament. Novak found his groove from the second set on, a much more controlled aggressive gameplan saw him overcome the charismatic Frenchman in four sets to claim his first ever AO title.
Novak Djokovic had finally become a grand slam champion.
It would be a while before Novak found himself in the winner's circle again, he would have to wait three years, but little did anyone know that what was about to come was going to change the face of professional tennis forever.....
Up next, the second slam - AO 2011
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