The 2023 Novak Djokovic tennis season is considered one of the greatest tennis seasons of all time by an individual tennis player. It officially began on 1 January 2023, with the start of the Adelaide International, and ended 25 November 2023 after Serbia's defeat by Italy in the semifinals of the Davis Cup Finals.
During this season, Djokovic:
Djokovic reached the final without dropping a set, then defeated Sebastian Korda in the final, 6âÂÂ7<sup>(8âÂÂ10)</sup>, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(7âÂÂ3)</sup>, 6âÂÂ4, saving a championship point in the second set. It was Djokovic's 92nd career title, and the first time he won a title in Adelaide since 2007.
Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(7âÂÂ4)</sup>, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(7âÂÂ5)</sup>, to win his 10th Australian Open title and 22nd major overall, equaling Nadal's all-time record. He only lost one set during the tournament (to Enzo Couacaud in the second round).
The World No. 1 was on a roll, extending his winning streak to 15 matches before losing to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
In March, Djokovic withdrew from the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open after being denied a visa into the United States due to being unvaccinated. Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas, Miami Open tournament director James Blake, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had lobbied federal government officials for an exemption, but were unsuccessful.
Despite leading 6âÂÂ4, 4âÂÂ2, two-time champion Djokovic was upset in the round of 16 by Lorenzo Musetti, who came back to win the match 4âÂÂ6, 7âÂÂ5, 6âÂÂ4 for his first ever win against a reigning World No. 1 and first ever win against Djokovic.
Djokovic was upset in the quarterfinals 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ7<sup>(6âÂÂ8)</sup> by compatriot and eventual champion Dusan Lajovic. Djokovic squandered 15 of 16 break point chances and a 6âÂÂ3 lead in the second set tiebreak.
Djokovic withdrew from Madrid Open due to concerns over an elbow injury.
In his final event before his 36th birthday, defending champion Djokovic reached the quarterfinals for the 17th straight year. In the quarterfinals, following a one-hour rain delay at the end of the second set, Djokovic was defeated by eventual runner-up Holger Rune 6âÂÂ2, 4âÂÂ6, 6âÂÂ2. It was Djokovic's earliest loss in Rome since 2013.
After defeating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud in the final, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(7âÂÂ1)</sup>, 6âÂÂ3, 7âÂÂ5 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2023 French Open, an all-time record-breaking 23rd men's singles major. He became the first man to achieve a triple career Grand Slam, and became the oldest French Open champion at the age of 36 years and 20 days.
Djokovic then played at the Wimbledon Championships, where he was bidding to win a fifth consecutive title and a record-equalling eighth title. He reached the semifinals with straight-set victories over Pedro Cachin, Jordan Thompson and Stan Wawrinka, and four set victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Andrey Rublev. In the semifinals, he faced Jannik Sinner in a rematch of their quarterfinal epic the previous year, and Djokovic won in straight sets to reach his fifth consecutive and 9th overall Wimbledon final, as well as his record-extending 35th major final, where he faced Carlos Alcaraz. He subsequently lost an epic final to Alcaraz in five sets, ending his 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon since 2018 and his unbeaten run in both Wimbledon finals and Centre Court matches since his 2013 defeat to Andy Murray.
This was Djokovic's first tournament in the United States since the 2021 US Open, following the lifting of COVID-19 vaccination requirements for international air travelers in May 2023. In the third round, Djokovic defeated Gaël Monfils in straight sets to extend his perfect head-to-head record to a record-breaking 19âÂÂ0 (thus overtaking the previous record hold by Rafael Nadal against Richard Gasquet at 18âÂÂ0). Djokovic then defeated ninth seed Taylor Fritz and 16th seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach his record-extending 57th Masters 1000 final, doing so without the loss of a set.
In yet another epic final, Djokovic avenged his Wimbledon loss by beating Carlos Alcaraz, 5âÂÂ7, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(9âÂÂ7)</sup>, 7âÂÂ6<sup>(7âÂÂ4)</sup> to win his third Cincinnati Masters title and record-extending 39th ATP Tour Masters 1000 title overall. He won the match from a set down and down a break in the second set, along with saving a championship point in the second-set tiebreaker. It was the second time he saved a championship point en route to a title in 2023, following his triumph in Adelaide, and it was his ninth career title that he won after saving match points during a tournament. At 3 hours and 49 minutes, this match was the longest best-of-three-sets ATP Tour final and the longest match in the tournament's history. The final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was later named the ATP Match of the Year. Djokovic called it one of his toughest matches, and said "It did feel like a Grand Slam final, even more than that to be honest". He compared the intensity and toughness of the match to his match against Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open final.
Djokovic then played at the US Open where he dropped only two sets en route to the title, both to his fellow countryman Laslo Djere in a win from two sets down in the third round. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic defeated No. 9 Taylor Fritz to record his 250th career victory over a Top 10 player, making him the first player to accomplish this milestone since the ATP rankings began in 1973. By reaching a 47th men's singles major semifinal, Djokovic surpassed Roger Federer's Open Era record. By reaching the final, Djokovic matched Federer's record of reaching all major finals in a season three times.
In the final, he faced Daniil Medvedev in a rematch of their 2021 US Open final, where Medvedev had triumphed in straight sets for his first major title and to deny Djokovic the Grand Slam. This time, Djokovic defeated Medvedev in straight sets to win his fourth US Open title and a record-extending 24th men's singles major title overall, also equaling Margaret Court's all-time record of major singles titles by either sex. Djokovic became the oldest US Open men's singles champion in the Open Era, at 36 years and 111 days, and the first man to win three majors in a season four times. This triumph also meant that, at the time, Djokovic had won one third of all Grand Slams he had entered (24 out of 72), and had been in the final in half of all Grand Slams he had played (36 out of 72). By winning his first-round match, Djokovic reclaimed the world No. 1 position from Alcaraz at the end of the tournament.
After a six-week break, Djokovic returned to the tour at the Paris Masters, where he won his second-round match over Tomás MartÃÂn Etcheverry in his 1069th career match, surpassing Rafael Nadal for the fourth most in the Open Era. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic defeated defending champion Holger Rune in a rematch of the previous year's final. He went on to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in the final to win his record-extending seventh Paris Masters title and 40th Masters overall. Djokovic also played in the doubles event with Krajinovic as a warm-up for the upcoming Davis Cup Finals. They won in the first round, but withdrew the next round.
Djokovic was put in the green group along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune. By winning his first round robin match over Rune, he secured the year-end world No. 1 position for a record-extending eighth time. Djokovic then lost to Sinner in a third set tiebreaker, which ended his 19-match winning streak and marked his first loss since the Wimbledon final. Djokovic rebounded quickly, however, and played some of his best tennis of the season to defeat second seed Alcaraz in the semifinals and home favourite Sinner in the finalâÂÂboth in straight setsâÂÂto win a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals title. This victory saw him become the first current world No. 1 to win the event since Andy Murray in 2016. Despite playing only 12 tournaments, Djokovic led the tour in titles won with seven, the most he has claimed in a season since 2016. On 20 November, Djokovic became the first player in singles to reach 400 weeks at No. 1.
its place in the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga in November.
Djokovic played in his final event of the year at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals in December. He had helped Serbia reach the quarterfinals by winning his 20th consecutive Davis Cup singles match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a 3âÂÂ0 win over Spain in Group C, where they finished in second place. In the quarterfinals against Britain, Djokovic defeated Cameron Norrie in singles to take his nation to the semifinals for the second time in three years and become the outright most successful Serbian player in the history of the Davis Cup with 44 wins in the competition, moving him one ahead of Nenad ZimonjiÃÂ.
In the semifinals against Italy, Djokovic faced Sinner for the third time in 11 days, losing in three sets despite holding three consecutive match points. This was his first loss in a Davis Cup singles match since he had retired to Juan MartÃÂn del Potro in 2011, and his first loss in a completed match since 2009. This was also the fourth time he lost from match points up and the first time that he lost after failing to convert three consecutive match points. Djokovic then teamed up with Miomir Kecmanovic for the decisive doubles match, but lost to Lorenzo Sonego and Sinner, who thus became the first player to ever defeat him twice in the same day.
This table chronicles all the matches of Novak Djokovic in 2023.
Per Novak Djokovic, this is his current 2023 schedule (subject to change).
Novak Djokovic has a ATP match winâÂÂloss record in the 2023 season. His record against players who were part of the ATP rankings Top Ten at the time of their meetings is . Bold indicates player was ranked top 10 at the time of at least one meeting. The following list is ordered by number of wins:
<small> Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted. </small>