Best season starts on ATP Tour since 1990 ft. Novak Djokovic in 2011 and Jannik Sinner in 2024
Tennis is a very competitive sport played across three different surfaces as the year progresses: hard, clay and grass. Starting the year with an extended winning streak spanning multiple surfaces over months is a rarity in tennis.
During the past three decades, there have been several such winning streaks by special players. In this article, we will take a look at five best season starts on the ATP Tour.
#5. 16 straight wins (Jannik Sinner 2024 and Roger Federer 2006) :
Sinner is having a fantastic run since the start of the season. He won his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January and the ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam soon after.
The 22-year-old Italian has now reached the semifinal of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and will face Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner’s powerful groundstrokes from the baseline have been complemented by his much-improved net-game that has made him a fearsome proposition.
Federer also made a brilliant start in 2006, winning the Qatar Open and Australian Open. He then reached the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. It turned out to be the best season in the Swiss maestro’s career, which saw him win three Grand Slams and ending the year with an unreal win-loss record of 92-5.
#4. 17 straight wins (Pete Sampras 1997, Novak Djokovic 2013 and Roger Federer 2018)
Sampras was in his pomp in 1997, winning the Australian Open title for the second time. He then went on to win a couple of more titles in San Jose and Philadelphia to extend his winning streak to 17 matches. The American won two Grand Slams that year and also finished the year as the world No. 1.
Djokovic started off in a great fashion in 2013, first winning the Australian Open title and then the Dubai Tennis Championships. He then reached the semifinal of the Indian Wells before losing to Juan Martin Del Potro.
Federer’s career saw a revival from 2017 onwards. The Swiss won his second consecutive Australian Open title in 2018. He then won the ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam and then proceeded to reach the final of the Masters 1000 final in Indian Wells. Once again, it was Del Potro who halted his run, beating him in the final in Indian Wells.
#3. 20 straight wins (Rafael Nadal 2022)
If Federer sparkled in 2018, it was Nadal’s turn to roll the years back during the initial few months in 2022. As a 35-year-old, Nadal first won the Melbourne Summer Set 1, then triumphed at the Australian Open after an epic five-set win against Daniil Medvedev in the final and then also won the Mexican Open title in Acapulco.
He then reached the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, but Taylor Fritz beat him there to end his streak of 20 wins. Nadal's fantastic run on hard courts was a treat to watch for the tennis lovers worldwide.
#2. 26 straight wins (Djokovic 2020)
Djokovic was at his clinical best during the season in 2020. He started off by winning a string of tournaments including the ATP Cup in Australia, the Australian Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships. After the COVID-19 induced hiatus that year, the Serb won the Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.
Djokovic could well have gone on to win the US Open title, too, but lost to Pablo Carreno Bista on default after hitting a chair umpire with the ball that saw him get disqualified.
#1. 41 straight wins (Djokovic 2011)
No player in the history of professional tennis has gotten even close to displaying the level exhibited by Djokovic in 2011. The peerless Djokovic won a staggering 41 matches in a row, and at one point during that year it seemed almost improbable that he would ever lose.
The Serb's gargantuan streak was broken during the semifinal of the French Open that year against Federer. Prior to that, he had won the Australian Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, Indian Wells Masters, Miami Masters, Serbia Open, Madrid Masters and Rome Masters. Djokovic's level was so high that he even beat Nadal in back-to-back tournaments on clay (in Madrid and Rome).