Novak Djokovic's 3 best Grand Slam performances of 2021
Novak Djokovic ended his 2021 Grand Slam season with a jaw-dropping record of 27 wins out of 28 matches played. Djokovic won the title at three of the four Majors - the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon - and fell just short at the US Open. The World No. 1 lost to Daniil Medvedev in the final of the New York Slam.
2021 is arguably the joint most dominant Slam season of Novak Djokovic's career, alongside 2015 (where he also won three Majors and finished runner-up at the fourth).
It is difficult to pick the three best performances when you have had such a stellar Slam season as Djokovic has. While there is a clear winner for the first position, the other two spots are debatable.
On that note, here is our list of Novak Djokovic's three best performances at the Slams in 2021:
#3 Novak Djokovic's win over Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2021 Australian Open
Daniil Medvedev entered the 2021 Australian Open final on a 20-match winning streak, and in the eyes of many, as a genuine threat to Novak Djokovic. Given how far Dominic Thiem had pushed Djokovic in the previous year's final, some believed that the Russian could go one step further in 2021.
However, that was not to be as Djokovic began in spectacular fashion to build a 3-0 lead in the opening set. While Medvedev did get the break back, he couldn't sustain his level much longer; the Serb was utterly dominant on serve and constantly threatening on return, not giving his opponent an inch.
After losing the first set 5-7, the Russian broke serve early in the second. But that proved futile, as Djokovic soon regained his razor-sharp precision from the first set. The 34-year-old reeled off four games in a row to effectively knock the wind out of Medvedev's sails.
Djokovic eventually wrapped up the match 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to hand Medvedev one of his worst ever losses on hardcourt.
#2 Novak Djokovic's win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros final
Unmatched 🏆🏆
@DjokerNole is now the first man in Open Era history to win all four Grand Slams twice.
#RolandGarros https://t.co/nAfmFHBJst
Novak Djokovic played like a sleeping giant for most of the 2021 French Open. He would frequently begin his matches slowly, looking devoid of ideas, before coming back strongly to seal the contest in his favor.
Djokovic did just that in the summit clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who led the Serb by two sets to love at one point. With history on the line, Djokovic pulled up his socks in no time to win the next three sets without breaking much of a sweat.
The World No. 1 was sublime on his serve in the final three sets, and didn't face a single break point. In fact, he dropped a mere three points on serve in the fourth set, highlighting his complete dominance.
After coughing up 25 unforced errors in the first two sets, Djokovic produced only 22 in the last three. In other words, the moment Tsitsipas started thinking the finish line was close, the Serb stopped giving him any more gifts.
Djokovic eventually emerged a 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 winner, which also made him the first man in the Open Era to win all four Majors twice.
#1 Novak Djokovic's win over Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros semifinal
Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic bring out the best in each other 💪
@DjokerNole | #RolandGarros https://t.co/AIKMa9neke
This match ranks is widely considered one of the finest tennis matches of all time, and also Novak Djokovic's best-ever performance on clay. The Serb ended up winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 to became the first player with two victories over Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.
Djokovic began rather poorly though, and found himself 0-5 down in the opening set. That brought back memories of Nadal's crushing win over Djokovic in the 2020 Roland Garros final.
But Djokovic got one of the breaks back to bring the scoreboard to a more respectable tally of 3-5. Although he couldn't prevent Nadal from clinching the opening set, he did give a strong indication that he wasn't going to roll over this time.
From the second set onwards Novak Djokovic was a lot more in command. Having directed a heavy amount of traffic to Nadal's venomous forehand in the first set, Djokovic flipped the switch in the second and started targeting the Spaniard's backhand. That took Nadal out of position during the rallies, which the Serb took full advantage of.
Djokovic and Nadal arguably played the best tennis of their career in the third set, which the former won in a tiebreaker. And although Nadal began strongly in the fourth set by breaking early for a 2-0 lead, he looked visibly exhausted from the effort he had spent in the titanic third set.
Djokovic was the far fresher player in the fourth set, and he reeled off six games in a row to register one of the biggest wins of his career.