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Djokovic dominates 2023 tennis season

tennis19 December 2023 14:36
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It was Novak Djokovic’s year as he won three of four majors but KG Montjane and Kevin Anderson were key subplots in the tennis tapestry, writes GRANT SHUB…

NOVAK STILL AT THE PEAK OF HIS POWERS

Novak Djokovic enjoyed an exceptional year as he won three of the four Grand Slams and ended the season by winning the ATP finals after beating young gun Jannik Sinner.

The Serb, who won a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title, remains at the peak of his powers at the age of 36.

Having endured a turbulent 2022, Djokovic underlined his dominance in the sport and streaked ahead of the injured Rafael Nadal and the retired Roger Federer, with 71 big titles to his name and 98 singles triumphs.

Djokovic began the year in fine fettle by winning the Australian Open and then added Roland Garros to his titles.

He came up short against Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon but ended the Grand Slam season in style, with a straight sets victory over Daniil Medvedev at the US Open.

The man, who practices the Wim Hof Method and eats a gluten-free diet, became the first player to hold the No 1 ranking for 400 weeks.

There’s already talk from Nole’s camp that he will be chasing the Golden Slam (by winning all four majors) next season.

With news that Nadal will return for the 2024 season, which is likely to be his curtain call, Djokovic will have his old foe to contend with at the first Slam of the season – the Australian Open.

Having been barred entry in 2022, Djokovic memorably won the 2023 Australian Open and says that he “emotionally collapsed” after winning the tournament.

Of the triumph the Serb noted, “It required an enormous mental energy really to stay present and focused, take things day by day and to really see how far I could go.” With the season finished, Djokovic probably went even further than he expected results-wise.

On the WTA circuit, Aryna Sabalenka claimed her first major title at the Australian Open after getting the better of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the final.

World No 1 Iga Swiatek, who was named WTA Player of the Year for a second successive season, claimed her third French Open and fourth Grand Slam title in June.

Unheralded Marketa Vondrousova made history by winning Wimbledon and in the process broke all African hearts when she saw off Tunisian Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

Meanwhile, American teen Coco Gauff saved her best for last as she won her home tournament – the US Open – by defeating Sabalenka in three sets. Gauff, who stormed back from a set down, is tipped to challenge Swiatek for the women’s crown next year.

ANDERSON MAKES SURPRISE COMEBACK

Only 14 months after calling time on his career in May, 2022 – from years of pushing his body to the limit – Kevin Anderson decided to launch a comeback on the ATP circuit.

He returned at the Hall of Fame Open in Newport and reached the quarterfinals stage.

After spending time in North Carolina with his wife Kelsey and two daughters, Anderson started hitting with a ball machine again in Delray Beach.

He says that through the process his body was really responding well and the pain in his knee pretty much disappeared.

Anderson, who has accrued prize money of R333-million over the course of his career, says that his reason to return was to continue to test himself against the best in the world.

Anderson told supersport.com, “There are a few things to work through but I’m not using winning or losing as a benchmark. This is truly an opportunity for me to grow as an individual and continue to learn as a tennis player.”

While Anderson has the option of a protected ranking, he went through the qualifying round at the US Open – the final Slam of the season – and lost in the second round to Czech Tomas Machac in straight sets.

In his first round qualifier, the 37-year-old South African got the better of Ukrainian Oleksii Krutykh in straight sets after serving 12 aces.

Anderson, who has kept a low profile on social media since September, hasn’t yet indicated if he intends on playing in next year’s first major – the Australian Open.

However, with South African-born Craig Tiley tournament director, the 6 ft 8 Anderson could potentially earn a late wildcard entry into the main draw and avoid the qualifiers.

MONTJANE SERVES UP A MAJOR STATEMENT

After winning the wheelchair doubles title at Roland Garros, Kgothatso ‘KG’ Montjane and her partner Yui Kamiji made it two Slams for the season as they won the US Open.

Montjane, who was born with a congenital deformity of one leg and both hands, had a prosthetic leg fitted after her foot was amputated when she was 12.

Montjane hasn’t let her physical differences hold her back as she’s developed into a star of the world game.

Of her continued achievements in the sport Montjane has said, “It’s always a great feeling to remain at the top and witness your hard work pay off.”

The 37-year-old, who became the first South African woman to win a French Open title since 1981, lists her primary credentials on Instagram as a Paralympian and Wimbledon singles finalist.

Winning on grass at SW19 is the ultimate dream for Montjane, who will look to go one better than in 2023.

In 2018, Montjane became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon.

From Seshego, Limpopo to Southfields in London, KG has come a long way and, by all accounts, her motivation to win more titles still burns bright.

When it comes to the Australian Open, Montjane has made the wheelchair doubles final a record eight times and has reached the semifinal in singles on three occasions. 2024 will also be a big year for the South African as she looks set to compete at the Paris Paralympics.

Montjane has previously taken part at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games and next year is likely to prove her swansong. Her best Paralympic result in the wheelchair doubles came at Tokyo 2020 where she made the quarterfinal.

TIAFOE DOES SA COACH FERREIRA PROUD

Frances Tiafoe, who is coached by South African tennis legend Wayne Ferreira, ended the season 16th on the ATP rankings.

Having been ousted in the US Open quarterfinal by American compatriot Ben Shelton, the pair later teamed up and won the Laver Cup.

2023 saw Tiafoe break his second round duck at the French Open, with a third round showing at Roland Garros.

He achieved the same results at the Australian Open and Wimbledon but saved his best for last at his home major.

Tiafoe failed to better his 2022 US Open semifinal result but it’s clear the 25-year-old, born in Hyattsville, USA is growing in stature.

Of his charge, Ferreira told supersport.com, “In some ways Frances has got a way to go reach that level (of Djokovic) but he is not far behind. It comes down to consistency week-in and week-out. On his day, Frances always has a chance.”

Ferreira believes that Tiafoe is best suited to the hard courts but the numbers suggest that grass was his most successful surface. On grass he enjoyed a 78 per cent win rate, on clay 67 per cent and on the hard courts 56 per cent.

Overall the American, who has a career-high ranking of 10th, had a win rate of 62 per cent for 2023 with 34 wins and 21 losses to his name.

Tiafoe, whose backstory of growing up at the Junior Tennis Champions Centre in Washington DC, is the son of immigrants from Sierra Leone.

He wore hand-me-downs and couldn't afford tennis equipment as a child.

His rise from living with his father Frances Sr and twin brother Franklin in the tennis centre’s storage room to staying in a luxury apartment overlooking the Southwest DC waterfront couldn’t have been better scripted by Hollywood.

Tiafoe wears threads sponsored by Giorgio Armani and Prada but remains proud of his humble beginnings.

The man, who was bestowed with the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, has launched the Frances Tiafoe Fund in association with the USTA Foundation and will aim to drive positive social change in the community.

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