A strong start to the season for Novak Djokovic in 2016
Novak Djokovic had kicked off the year 2016 in tremendous fashion by winning Doha, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami, cumulating a record of 28-1. Before heading to Madrid for the Mutua Open, Djokovic suffered a three-set defeat in the opening round of Monte Carlo against Jiri Vesely, without which the gap would have been even greater.
However, this setback didn't prevent him from claiming the title in Madrid by overcoming Andy Murray in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the final, thereby earning 1000 new points in the rankings to extend his lead over Roger Federer to 9025 points.
Not only was Djokovic aided by his superb start to the season, but he had also just won the last three Grand Slams after triumphing at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015. That historic season saw him clinch no less than 11 titles, including 7 Masters 1000 events, 3 Grand Slams, and the end-of-season championship. And that's not all; he also reached the finals at Roland-Garros, the Canadian Open and Cincinnati. He ended the year 2015 with an incredible record of 82-6.
A historic gap in the rankings
In addition to holding a historic gap of 9025 points between himself and Roger Federer, who held the 2nd position, the difference between Djokovic and Federer was greater than the one between Federer and the last-ranked player in the ATP rankings, Tinotenda Chanakira, a player from Zimbabwe who had only one ATP point after participating in 13 tournaments and was ranked 2216th in the world.
With 16,550 points, Novak Djokovic also had more points in the rankings than positions 5 to 10: Kei Nishikori, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, and Milos Raonic. For comparison, Novak Djokovic still sits atop the ATP rankings as of May 6, 2024, with a tally of 9900 points, which is 6650 points fewer than he had in 2016.
To put things into perspective, this point difference represents three Grand Slam victories (3 x 2000 points) plus a Masters 1000 final (650 points). Never before has a tennis player experienced a 12-month period during which they dominated their opponents to such an extent.
A 2nd half of season befitting a world number one
Despite the subsequent narrowing of the point gap between Novak Djokovic and the second position in the rankings, he had an excellent second half of the season with titles at Roland-Garros and Toronto, in addition to reaching the finals in Rome, the US Open, and the end-of-season championship.
The only blemish on Novak Djokovic's 2016 season: an early exit at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in Brazil. Unfortunately, he was paired against Juan Martin Del Potro in the first round, who was returning from injury. Del Potro went on to win the silver medal after losing to Andy Murray in the final. Unfortunately for Djokovic, an Olympic gold medal is still the only thing missing from his illustrious career, having only won bronze in 2008 in Beijing.
If you would like to learn more about Novak Djokovic and his illustrious career, we recommend his biography written by Dominic Bliss, you can buy the book and support Tennis Clubhouse at the same time by following this link.
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