2016 Novak Djokovic tennis season

Wikinews has related news: Djokovic beats Murray for fourth time, wins Aus Open 2016

The reigning champion entered the 2016 Australian Open as the top seed.[1] Djokovic started his title defence against Korean Chung Hyeon,[2] defeating the 19-year-old in straight sets (10th consecutive win in first-round Australian Open without dropping a set). Into third round after third-set fightback defeated French teen Quentin Halys. Win in the fourth round of the Italian Andreas Seppi has become the 33rd in a row against Italian opposition (only defeat in his first meeting with an Italian player at 2004 Umag to Filippo Volandri). In his 60th match at the Australian Open, despite a 100 unforced errors (new own record, previous value – 63) in five sets, Djokovic into 27th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal, surviving Gilles Simon in four hours, 32 minutes.[3] He then defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets to reach his sixth Australian Open semifinal.

Djokovic then defeated former champion Roger Federer in four sets,[4] winning the first two sets in 54 minutes combined, to reach his sixth Australian Open final (new record of the Open Era) and 19th Grand slam final (the joint-third highest number of slam finals in the history of tennis). This marks the 17th (5th at a Major) straight tournament final that Djokovic has reached since last January. The victory also gave Djokovic the edge in his head-to-head record against Federer for the first time at 23–22 (he also leads each of the other three members of the Big Four in the head-to-head as well).

In the final, Djokovic captured his sixth Australian Open title by defeating No. 2 Andy Murray in straight sets in just under three hours[5] (57th match-win at the Australian Open and take sole ownership of 2nd place on the list for most Australian Open match-wins in the Open Era) to win his eleventh major title (3rd consecutive win Grand Slam), placing him in equal fifth place on the all-time list with Björn Borg and Rod Laver. His sixth title in Melbourne equals Roy Emerson's record. He also won his seventh (2015 US Open, 2015 Beijing, 2015 Shanghai, 2015 Paris, the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals, 2016 Doha and 2016 Australian Open) consecutive Tour-level title.

Wikinews has related news: Djokovic wins French Open, completes his career Grand Slam

Djokovic began 16th Grand Slam tournament as the No. 1 seed. It's also the fourth time in five years at Roland Garros and the eighth consecutive Grand Slam (the 21st consecutive Majors in a Top 2 seed) in which Djokovic has been the top seed. He reached 200 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings (May 23) and also achieved 100 consecutive weeks at No. 1 (May 30) during the tournament.[6]

Djokovic won his first French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. The Serb defeated Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei in one hour and 30 minutes to stretch his undefeated streak to 12-0 in first-round play in Paris.[7] Djokovic defeated the Belgian Steve Darcis in 2 hours and 19 minutes to reach the third round of the French Open and earn his 50th win at Roland Garros, becoming just the third player in the Open Era after Roger Federer and Serena Williams to record 50 wins at each of the four Grand Slams. The World No. 1 defeated Britain's Aljaž Bedene in straight sets after just over two hours, in what was more of a fight against time to speed into the last 16.[8] Some days trailing by a set in damp stop-start conditions Djokovic defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in three hours and 16 minutes to reach his 28th successive Grand Slam championship quarter-final. Djokovic progressed to his 30th Grand Slam (6th straight Roland Garros) semi-final with a win over Czech Tomáš Berdych following a controversial rain delay. For the second straight year, a quarter-final victory at Roland Garros guaranteed the 29-year-old Serbian his place in the ATP World Tour Finals and at the same time became the first player in tennis history to earn more than US$100 million in prize money over his 14-season pro career. Djokovic advanced to his fourth Roland Garros final by dispatching Dominic Thiem in one hour and 48 minutes, putting him into his sixth consecutive and 20th overall Grand Slam final. In the final, Djokovic defeated Murray 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4. With his first French Open title, Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam and became only the third man to hold all four major titles simultaneously and the first since Laver won all four in 1969. Djokovic also became the only man ever to hold all four majors on three different surfaces at the same time (at the time of the previous achievements, the Australian and US Opens were played on grass).

Djokovic began his 2016 Wimbledon quest as the two-time defending champion and top seed. He defeated James Ward and Adrian Mannarino, in straight sets. In the third round, he lost to No. 28 seed Sam Querrey from the United States. This was Djokovic's first loss in a grand slam before the quarterfinal since the 2009 French Open.

Djokovic entered the US Open as the defending champion and top seed. After a tough four set victory in the first round, second round walkover and a brief third round match. Djokovic beat Kyle Edmund in straight sets. He defeated Gael Monflis in the semi-finals in four sets, but in the final, lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets.

Djokovic was the first player to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals after reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals (June 2, 2016). Five-time champion (2008, 2012-15) will make 10th appearance (2007–16).[9] After a tough three set victory against Dominic Thiem and a close two set tiebreak against Milos Raonic, Djokovic defeated David Goffin and Kei Nishikori in the round robin stage and semi-finals respectively, both in straight sets. He lost to Andy Murray in the final in straight sets, ending his 2016 season

Djokovic for the second consecutive year began the season with a tournament in Doha, Qatar.

Djokovic reached the final without losing a set.[10] Novak Djokovic notches first Doha crown, defeating Rafael Nadal in the final in a 73-minute match.[11][12][13] This marked his 16th straight final (3rd in Open Era) – and 12th title – since he lost in the Qatar Open quarterfinals last year (l. to Karlovic). The world No. 1 capturing his sixth consecutive ATP World Tour title and 60th overall at the tour-level. He became just the 10th player in the Open Era to reach the 60-title milestone. The Djokovic leads the historic Head2Head against Nadal for the first time at 24–23.[14] He has now claimed 11 consecutive sets since Nadal prevailed in the 2014 Roland Garros final. Djokovic (d. Verdasco, 2R and Nadal, F) to reach 18th win in a row vs Spaniards (last loss to Robredo at 2014 Cincinnati, 3R) & 20th straight win vs left-handers (last loss to Nadal at 2014 Roland Garros, F). Also Novak has updated its own record for highest number of points accrued in the ATP rankings – 16,790.

Four-time tournament champion opened his 10th consecutive Dubai Tennis Championships campaign with convincing win over Tommy Robredo, beating Spaniard in just 66 minutes. Novak Djokovic joined the 700-win club[15] defeating Malek Jaziri in second round in 65 minutes to reach the quarterfinals.[16] He is only the 12th player in the Open Era (since 1968) to hit the 700 singles victories mark, next his coach, Boris Becker (713). In the 479 days since the world No. 1 claimed his 600th match win on 2 November 2014, he has compiled an astonishing 100–6 record. At 28 years, nine months, he is the third active player to pass the milestone, following in the footsteps of his celebrated rivals, Roger Federer (1,067) and Rafael Nadal (775). Djokovic’s streak of ATP World Tour finals reached will end at 17 after the world No. 1 retired against Feliciano Lopez in the quarter-finals. Top seed was forced to retire with an eye ailment. The Serb was down 3–6 before retiring, last time Novak retired was 2011 Davis Cup against Juan Martín del Potro, a stretch of 350 matches (318–32).

In R1 Djokovic beat Aleksandr Nedovyesov in straight sets in an hour and 53 minutes (1–0). Kazakhstan took a shock 2–1 lead against Serbia in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round tie after Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Andrey Golubev beat former doubles No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic and Novak Djokovic in doubles. Djokovic prevailed in five-hour match against Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin in five sets and equalized (2–2). Former Davis Cup by BNP Paribas winners Serbia set up a blockbuster quarterfinal tie with holders Great Britain after edging Kazakhstan 3–2 in a titanic tussle.[17]

Djokovic started tournament with a tough match against the American Bjorn Fratangelo. The Serb rallied back from a set down to win in three sets. In the next round Novak Djokovic beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets. The four-time Indian Wells Masters champion is successfully continuing his title-defending journey with a win over Feliciano Lopez in the fourth round, in an hour and 7 minutes. In the quarterfinals Djokovic overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2 hours and 6 minutes to set up a blockbuster semifinal at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Djokovic continued his winning streak against Rafael Nadal beating him in straight sets to reach the 6th 2016 BNP Paribas Open final for the third straight year in a row. He has now beaten the Spaniard six times in a row, with his last loss coming in the 2014 French Open final. Djokovic has now lifted his record over Nadal to 25–23 (only 2nd (first Boris Becker) man in Open Era to beat one rival 25 times). He has reached 10 straight ATP Masters 1000 finals (DNP 2015 Mutua Madrid Open) since 2014 BNP Paribas Masters, winning 8 titles (50–2 record). In the final Novak Djokovic destroyed Milos Raonic during the 77-minute match, to win his third straight and a record fifth Indian Wells Masters title.[18] Djokovic commits four total unforced errors, rolls to most overwhelming win in ATP Masters 1000 final ever. He now has a 17-match win streak at Indian Wells Masters with the three-peat. His record in the desert is 47–6. The world No. 1 improves his record on the year to 22–1. This marks Djokovic’s 27th ATP Masters 1000 crown. He is now tied with Rafael Nadal for the all-time lead. Djokovic is first man to win 20 ATP Masters 1000 (or equivalent) titles on one surface (hard courts). Rafael Nadal has 19 on clay.

Djokovic has more ATP points that Andy Murray No. 2 and Roger Federer No. 3 combined.

Djokovic began the tournament with a first round bye, and then faced Kyle Edmund in the 2nd Round. Djokovic won easily in two sets. In the third round, Djokovic faced Joao Sousa. Djokovic again won in two sets. In the fourth round, Djokovic faced up and coming youngster Dominic Thiem. Thiem had already won two titles this year. Djokovic won in two sets. After reaching the fourth round, Djokovic went head to head against Tomas Berdych. Unsurprisingly, Djokovic won in straight sets. Djokovic faced David Goffin of Belgium. Despite a spirited performance, Djokovic prevailed. In the final, Djokovic faced and beat Kei Nishikori. This was Djokovic's fourth title of the year. It improved his yearly record to 28–1. His one loss was a retirement.

Djokovic began the tournament as the heavy favourite, but was knocked out by Jiří Veselý in the second round. This was his earliest exit in a Masters event in nearly three years, when he was knocked out by Grigor Dimitrov at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open.

Djokovic received a first round bye. In the second round, he beat up and coming youngster Borna Ćorić in straight sets to set up a meeting with Roberto Bautista Agut. Djokovic won in straight sets. Djokovic then had wins against Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori to make it to the finals. Djokovic would lock horns with Andy Murray for a 33rd time. Djokovic defeated Murray in three sets in a very entertaining match which saw Djokovic save 7 break points in the final game to clinch victory. This victory also set a new record for most Masters 1000 titles with 29.

Novak Djokovic received a bye in the first round. Djokovic beat qualifier Stéphane Robert and Thomaz Bellucci. He then faced Rafael Nadal for a record 49th time and won in two tight sets. After downing Kei Nishikori in three sets, he faced Andy Murray in the final. It was a disappointment with Murray winning in two sets. This was the 2nd time out of the last 14 matches Murray had beaten Djokovic.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Djokovic started his campaign against Gilles Müller, defeating him in two tight sets. He then faced qualifier Radek Štěpánek in the third round and fifth seed Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals, winning both matches in straight sets. In the semifinals, he faced the resurgent Gaël Monfils, defeating him for the 12th time in his career. In the final, he faced 3rd seed Kei Nishikori, defeating him for the 5th time this season with a score of 6−3, 7−5. This was Djokovic's 7th title of the season. It was also his 30th Masters 1000 Series title and 43rd Masters final, breaking away from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who are both on 42 finals.

Hoping to win a gold medal for the first time in his career, Djokovic entered the 2016 Summer Olympics, but lost to Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets. In the doubles he lost in the second round.

Djokovic received a bye in the first round, Djokovic defeated Fabio Fognini and Vasek Pospisil in straight sets. He defeated Mischa Zverev in three sets, but lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets.

Djokovic received a bye in the first round. He defeated Gilles Muller in straight sets, defeated Grigor Dimitrov in three sets before losing to Marin Cilic in straight sets

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (Seed or Key)	Rank	Result	Score
Qatar ExxonMobil Open Doha, Qatar ATP Tour 250 Hard, outdoor 4 – 10 January 2016
	1 / 833	1R	Dustin Brown (Q)	118	Win	6–2, 6–2
	2 / 834	2R	Fernando Verdasco	49	Win	6–2, 6–2
	3 / 835	QF	Leonardo Mayer (8)	35	Win	6–3, 7–5
	4 / 836	SF	Tomáš Berdych (3)	6	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
	5 / 837	W	Rafael Nadal (2)	5	Win (1)	6–1, 6–2
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 18 – 31 January 2016
	6 / 838	1R	Chung Hyeon	51	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
	7 / 839	2R	Quentin Halys (WC)	187	Win	6–1, 6–2, 7–6(7–3)
	8 / 840	3R	Andreas Seppi (28)	29	Win	6–1, 7–5, 7–6(8–6)
	9 / 841	4R	Gilles Simon (14)	15	Win	6–3, 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
	10 / 842	QF	Kei Nishikori (7)	7	Win	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
	11 / 843	SF	Roger Federer (3)	3	Win	6–1, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
	12 / 844	W	Andy Murray (2)	2	Win (2)	6–1, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates ATP Tour 500 Hard, outdoor 22 – 27 February 2016
	13 / 845	1R	Tommy Robredo	41	Win	6–1, 6–2
	14 / 846	2R	Malek Jaziri (WC)	121	Win	6–1, 6–2
	15 / 847	QF	Feliciano López (6)	24	Loss	3–6 ret.
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group First Round Belgrade, Serbia Davis Cup Hard, indoor 4 – 6 March 2016
	16 / 848	1R R1	Aleksandr Nedovyesov	200	Win	6–1, 6–2, 6–3
	17 / 849	1R R4	Mikhail Kukushkin	79	Win	6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 10 – 20 March 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	18 / 850	2R	Bjorn Fratangelo (Q)	149	Win	2–6, 6–1, 6–2
	19 / 851	3R	Philipp Kohlschreiber (27)	30	Win	7–5, 7–5
	20 / 852	4R	Feliciano López (18)	21	Win	6–3, 6–3
	21 / 853	QF	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (7)	9	Win	7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2)
	22 / 854	SF	Rafael Nadal (4)	5	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–2
	23 / 855	W	Milos Raonic (12)	14	Win (3)	6–2, 6–0
Miami Open Presented by Itaú Miami, United States ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 23 March – 3 April 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	24 / 856	2R	Kyle Edmund	87	Win	6–3, 6–3
	25 / 857	3R	João Sousa (33)	38	Win	6–4, 6–1
	26 / 858	4R	Dominic Thiem (14)	14	Win	6–3, 6–4
	27 / 859	QF	Tomáš Berdych (7)	7	Win	6–3, 6–3
	28 / 860	SF	David Goffin (15)	15	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–4
	29 / 861	W	Kei Nishikori (6)	6	Win (4)	6–3, 6–3
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte-Carlo, Monaco ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 10 – 17 April 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	30 / 862	2R	Jiří Veselý	55	Loss	4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 1 – 8 May 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	31 / 863	2R	Borna Ćorić	40	Win	6–2, 6–4
	32 / 864	3R	Roberto Bautista Agut (15)	17	Win	6–2, 6–1
	33 / 865	QF	Milos Raonic (11)	10	Win	6–3, 6–4
	34 / 866	SF	Kei Nishikori (6)	6	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
	35 / 867	W	Andy Murray (2)	2	Win (5)	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy ATP Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor 8 – 15 May 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	36 / 868	2R	Stéphane Robert (Q)	103	Win	7–5, 7–5
	37 / 869	3R	Thomaz Bellucci	37	Win	0–6, 6–3, 6–2
	38 / 870	QF	Rafael Nadal (5)	5	Win	7–5, 7–6(7–4)
	39 / 871	SF	Kei Nishikori (6)	6	Win	2–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
	40 / 872	F	Andy Murray (2)	2	Loss (1)	3–6, 3–6
Roland Garros Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor 22 May – 5 June 2016
	41 / 873	1R	Lu Yen-hsun	95	Win	6–4, 6–1, 6–1
	42 / 874	2R	Steve Darcis (Q)	161	Win	7–5, 6–3, 6–4
	43 / 875	3R	Aljaž Bedene	66	Win	6–2, 6–3, 6–3
	44 / 876	4R	Roberto Bautista Agut (14)	16	Win	3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 7–5
	45 / 877	QF	Tomáš Berdych (7)	8	Win	6–3, 7–5, 6–3
	46 / 878	SF	Dominic Thiem (13)	15	Win	6–2, 6–1, 6–4
	47 / 879	W	Andy Murray (2)	2	Win (6)	3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 27 June – 10 July 2016
	48 / 880	1R	James Ward (WC)	177	Win	6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
	49 / 881	2R	Adrian Mannarino	55	Win	6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
	50 / 882	3R	Sam Querrey (28)	41	Loss	6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7)
Canadian Open Toronto, Canada ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 25 – 31 July 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	51 / 883	2R	Gilles Müller	37	Win	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
	52 / 884	3R	Radek Štěpánek (Q)	129	Win	6–2, 6–4
	53 / 885	QF	Tomáš Berdych (5)	8	Win	7–6(8–6), 6–4
	54 / 886	SF	Gaël Monfils (10)	14	Win	6–3, 6–2
	55 / 887	W	Kei Nishikori (3)	6	Win (7)	6–3, 7–5
Summer Olympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Olympic Games Hard, outdoor 6 – 14 August 2016
	56 / 888	1R	Juan Martín del Potro (PR)	141	Loss	6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
US Open New York City, United States Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 29 August – 11 September 2016
	57 / 889	1R	Jerzy Janowicz (PR)	247	Win	6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
	–	2R	Jiří Veselý	49	Walkover	N/A
	58 / 890	3R	Mikhail Youzhny	61	Win	4–2 ret.
	59 / 891	4R	Kyle Edmund	84	Win	6–2, 6–1, 6–4
	60 / 892	QF	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9)	11	Win	6–3, 6–2 ret.
	61 / 893	SF	Gaël Monfils (10)	12	Win	6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
	62 / 894	F	Stan Wawrinka (3)	3	Loss (2)	7–6(7–1), 4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Shanghai Rolex Masters Shanghai, China ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor 10 – 16 October 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	63 / 895	2R	Fabio Fognini	50	Win	6–3, 6–3
	64 / 896	3R	Vasek Pospisil (Q)	131	Win	6–4, 6–4
	65 / 897	QF	Mischa Zverev (Q)	110	Win	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
	66 / 898	SF	Roberto Bautista Agut (15)	19	Loss	4–6, 4–6
BNP Paribas Masters Paris, France ATP Tour Masters 1000 Hard, indoor 31 October – 6 November 2016
	–	1R	Bye
	67 / 899	2R	Gilles Müller	34	Win	6–3, 6–4
	68 / 900	3R	Grigor Dimitrov (14)	18	Win	4–6, 6–2, 6–3
	69 / 901	QF	Marin Čilić (9)	10	Loss	4–6, 6–7(2–7)
ATP World Tour Finals London, United Kingdom ATP Finals Hard, indoor 13 – 20 November 2016
	70 / 902	RR	Dominic Thiem (8)	9	Win	6–7(10–12), 6–0, 6–2
	71 / 903	RR	Milos Raonic (4)	4	Win	7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5)
	72 / 904	RR	David Goffin (Alt)	11	Win	6–1, 6–2
	73 / 905	SF	Kei Nishikori (5)	5	Win	6–1, 6–1
	74 / 906	F	Andy Murray (1)	1	Loss (3)	3–6, 4–6

[19]

Novak Djokovic number one rankings timeline:

Novak Djokovic has a 21–4 (84.0%) record against the top 10, 21–3 (87.5%) against the top 11–50, 21–2 (91.3%) against other players; 50–2 (96.2%) against right-handed players and 9–2 (81.8%) against left-handed players.
Ordered by number of wins (Bolded number marks a top 10 player at the time of first match of the year, Italic means top 50; "L" means left-handed player).

• Bold font denotes tournament win

• source：
• source：

• Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year[23]
• Marca Leyenda[24]