Djokovic's 5 most epic rivalries of the 2010s
Novak Djokovic, the third and youngest member of men's tennis' Big-3 trifecta (the others being Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal), has carved out a niche for himself particularly due to his exploits in the game during the last decade.
Djokovic's tallies of Grand Slam titles (16) are only behind those of Federer (20) and Nadal (19) while the Serb's 34 Masters 1000 triumphs are only behind Nadal's all-time mark of 35.
During the early part of the decade, Djokovic ended his 3-year wait for a second major breakthrough by winning his 2nd title at the 2011 Australian Open. The Serb then embarked on a stunning 41-0 start to the season, encompassing title runs in Dubai, Indian Wells, Belgrade, Miami, Madrid, and Rome before falling to Roger Federer in the Roland Garros semifinals. Continuing a banner season, the Serb beat Nadal in the Wimbledon and US Open finals to quadruple his Grand Slam tally.
In an even better 2015 season, Djokovic became the first player since Federer (2009) to reach the final at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a season, falling for a third time in as many title matches at the French Open. The season witnessed Djokovic become the first player to reach 8 Masters 1000 finals, winning a record 6 of those in a single season.
At the 2016 French Open, Djokovic became the fifth player to win the coveted career Grand Slam, and the first player since Rod Laver (1969) to hold all four major titles. The Serb won a record 7th title at the Australian Open in 2019 and went on to become the first Wimbledon champion in 71 years to save multiple championship points following a defeat of Federer in a historic first-ever Wimbledon match to feature a 5th set tiebreak. In the process, Djokovic improved his Slam tally to 16.
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During the 2010s decade, Djokovic tallied 630 wins and exactly 100 losses, which was more than the next best tallies of Federer (559-109) and Nadal (576-106) respectively during the period. Djokovic met 174 different opponents during the 2010s, failing to beat only 5 players led by Nick Kyrgios (2). The Serb went perfect against 129 opponents. On that note, let us meet five players whom Djokovic met the most number of times during the decade:
#5 Kei Nishikori: 18 matches
In 18 meetings with Japan's Kei Nishikori during the 2010s decade, Djokovic emerged triumphant on 16 occasions.
But one of two defeats for Djokovic against Nishikori came in the semifinals at the 2014 US Open, the other coming in the 2011 Basel semifinals as the Japanese took the lead (2-1) for the first time in the pair's rivalry.
It would be the last time Nishikori would taste a win against Djokovic as the Serb would go 15-0 in the pair's as many following meetings - a run that included Masters 1000 final wins in 2016 (Miami and Montreal).