Djokovic celebrates after ending year as world no.1
Novak Djokovic has once again failed to win one of the only prizes that continues to elude him. The ATP’s Fans’ Favourite award has been handed to Italian star Jannik Sinner despite Djokovic dominating the tour in 2023.
Djokovic enjoyed a remarkable year. He won the Australian, French and US Opens and reached the Wimbledon final, losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
The veteran also won a range of other tournaments to comfortably finish as the year-end world No 1. But Djokovic might be frustrated over missing out on being named the official favourite player among the tennis community.
Fans are asked to vote for their favourite player among the top 25 in the world. Remarkably, Roger Federer won the award for a staggering 19 consecutive years before it was handed to Rafael Nadal in 2022.
Despite Federer and Nadal now largely out of the picture, with the former retired and the Spaniard injured for most of 2023, Djokovic has still not been voted the fans’ favourite player. That honour has instead been given to Sinner.
READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios’ manager says ‘everyone thinks he is going into the adult industry'[LATEST]
The 22-year-old won four tour-level tournaments in a fantastic breakthrough year and has risen to No 4 in the ATP rankings. He led Italy to Davis Cup victory and reached the semi-final of Wimbledon in the summer.
Sinner has become a crowd favourite and is just the fifth person to win the award. It was first dished out in 2000 and was dominated by Federer for two decades.
Djokovic will not be majorly troubled by his failure to win the prize, despite often airing frustration over his relationship with crowds. In November, he told British Davis Cup spectators to “shut up” and “show more respect” after he was jeered.
Meanwhile, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has insisted he is hungry for more titles in 2024. The Serb says the rise of several young players – including Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – has woken “a beast”.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
DON’T MISS…
Nick Kyrgios explains that he’s more generous than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic[QUOTES]
Novak Djokovic declares that Nadal left him enraged in French Open locker room[LATEST]
Novak Djokovic explains how Carlos Alcaraz ‘p****d me off’ as rivalry brews[REACTION]
“The young guys who are very hungry and very inspired to play their best tennis against me is an additional motivation,” Djokovic told CBS. “I think they kind of awaken a beast in me.”
Djokovic’s rivalry with Alcaraz was one of the stories of the tennis year. He was beaten by the 20-year-old in the summer’s Wimbledon final but got revenge a month later in the Cincinnati’s Masters. Alcaraz’s dip in form towards the end of the year meant Djokovic finished the year as the world No 1.
“He’s as complete of a player as I have seen in ages,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz. “It’s a great opportunity for me to reinvent myself and really push harder than I ever did.”
Source: Read Full Article
