A young boy born on the 22nd of May, 1987 in a war-ravaged Serbia, and despite the privations he encountered growing up, against all odds, would later take up tennis at age four with a mini-racket and a soft foam ball. At the age of six, he would join a tennis camp organized by the Teniski Klub Partizan which was supervised by Yugoslavian tennis player Jelena Gencic, and upon seeing Novak Djokovic play tennis, she would describe him as the greatest talent she had seen since Monica Seles. In 2003, Novak Djokovic became a professional, but at the junior level, he was the No.1 16-and-under player in Europe. He had a singles win-loss of 40-11 and doubles of 23-6. The ATP was dominated by only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal when Novak Djokovic became a pro, but he would go on to compete with them and cement himself into what will be referred to as ‘The Big Three’. His incredible story would not end at just competing with the dominant duo, but with his mental resilience, outrageous skillset, and sensational consistency, he will go ahead to win more slams than the two greats and become the greatest men’s tennis player the world has ever seen. He has the most slam titles in ATP with 23 and was very close to extending his record to 24 in the Wimbledon 2023 final, but lost in five sets in what was a thriller against current No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, as the Serbian lost 1-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in 4 hours 42 minutes. That loss was his first loss since 2017 in Wimbledon against Tomas Berdych in which the Serbian had to withdraw due to an elbow injury in the quarterfinals. His loss to the Spaniard (Carlos Alcaraz) would deny the 36-year-old a chance for a calendar slam, having won the 2023 Australian Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and the 2023 French Open against Casper Ruud, and there is no ruling him out for a 24th Slam in the US Open that starts on the 28th of August, 2023.
‘Idemo’s’ career has been nothing but fantastic, but he has also struggled during his journey. He surpassed the psychological barrier and nervousness in playing against the tennis greats and also suffered from physical injuries and some mental health issues. He is open about his struggles with anxiety and depression and has sought professional help. In 2011, he had a shoulder injury that would affect his performance and force him into rehabilitation. In 2022, he missed out on the Australian Open, and other tournaments, as he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
**CAREER HIGHLIGHTS OF NOVAK DJOKOVIC:** **2003** : Novak Djokovic became a professional tennis player at the age of 16. **2005** : He reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon which was his breakthrough on the ATP Tour. **2006** : Djokovic won his first ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without dropping a set as he defeated Nicolas Massu in the final. **2007** : Idemo won his first Masters 1000 ATP title in Indian Wells by defeating Guillermo Canas. **2008** : Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He defeated the unseeded Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the final in four sets. He also won two Masters and his first year-end championship. **2011** : This year will become one of the greatest seasons in history as Djokovic won ten titles in 2011. He won three out of the four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) and reached the French Open final. He went on a 41-match winning streak and finished the season with a win-loss of 70-6. Reached the No.1 ranking and a record-breaking 5th Masters title at the time. **2012** : Djokovic would defend his Australian Open title, and win three Masters titles, and a year-ending Championship. The Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal lasted for 5 hours 53 minutes which is still the longest Grand Slam final in history. A five-set thriller. **2013** : The Serb reached the Australian Open and US Open finals but lost both. He dropped in ranking that year to number two. **2015** : Another iconic year in tennis history as Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) and reached the final of the French Open. He won a record 6th Masters title in a single season and reclaimed his No.1 spot in the ATP ranking. **2016** : He won his sixth Australian Open, the most in the Open Era, by defeating Roger Federer in the semi-finals, and beating Andy Murray in the final in straight sets. He won four Masters titles and set an ATP 16,950 ranking points record. He defeated Andy Murray in four sets in the French Open final, making him the reigning champion of all slams, and it would be referred to as the ‘Nole Slam.’ He struggled towards the end of the year and lost his top-ranking spot to Andy Murray as he ended the year as the second-ranked player **2018** : Injuries hampered his season, as he underwent surgery on his elbow. This affected his form and performance for most of the year, but he concluded the year with two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon and the US Open). **2020** : Novak Djokovic won his 8th Australian Open title. COVID interrupted most of the tennis season. **2021** : Another remarkable year for Djokovic as he won the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon, and reached the final of the US Open in which he lost to the Russian Daniil Medvedev. **2022** : Injuries and lack of match fitness made him struggle this year and he withdrew from some tournaments due to his vaccination status. **2023** : He won a record-breaking 10th Australian Open title and the French Open to become the first man ever to win 23 Grand Slam titles. He reached the Wimbledon final but lost to Carlos Alcaraz. His first loss in Wimbledon in six years. The Serb has been ranked the No.1 for a record 389 weeks. The most in male and female tennis history. He is the oldest man to win the French Open at 36 years and 20 days. Djokovic is the only male player to win each Grand Slam, all nine Masters tournaments, and the ATP finals at least twice. He has 94 ATP singles titles, a record 34 Masters titles, and a joint-record 6 ATP finals titles. A player that enjoys playing in the big events, Djokovic is the only player in history to win each Grand Slam three times and the only male player to hold all four Grand Slams on three different surfaces (hard, clay, and grass) at once (2015 Wimbledon to 2016 French Open). Unreal dominance. He is the only male player to win 30 consecutive Grand Slam matches across three different surfaces. He has reached a record 35 Grand Slam finals and has played in the final of each Grand Slam tournament at least 7 times.
Djokovic is the player with the most experience, most Grand Slams, most US Open titles, most major hard court titles in the Open Era, and most appearances than the other competitors on tour. He has played three Grand Slam finals this year and has won two. He is back on his favourite surface which is the hard court, and he is still the player to beat. He has a win-loss of 20-1 in Grand Slam matches played this year which shows he is not relenting at his age. Carlos Alcaraz will be defending his US Open title, and will always be a big threat to anyone right now, and with the hard court specialist, Daniil Medvedev, whose only Grand Slam title was in this event in 2021 when he defeated Novak Djokovic, it is expected to be a tough contest for Novak Djokovic, but with his undoubted skillset and mentality, you just cannot write the Serb off. Betking has amazing value and the best odds, and being the best online sports betting platform in Nigeria offers you the chance to make good money on our tennis betting tips in the upcoming US Open. Our bet prediction on the 2023 US Open Men’s Singles winner is on Novak Djokovic and the high odds on him are worth every risk.