Novak Djokovic believes his performance this season is superior to his famed 2011 season.
The Serb won three majors and went 70-6 in 2011, winning his first 41 matches of the season—one match shy of John McEnroe's record start. His 43-match win streak as a whole was the third longest in the Open era.
This season, Djokovic reached all four Grand Slam finals, winning three, and currently holds a 73-5 record with nine titles. He called his recent wins in Beijing and Shanghai the best he's played in consecutive weeks. Djokovic won every match in straight sets, with only Bernard Tomic pushing him as far as a tiebreak in the Shanghai quarterfinals.
"I think I've played the best tennis ever in these two weeks back-to-back," said Djokovic following his 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Shanghai. "I didn't get tired. I always had plenty of intensity, concentration, high performance level.
"I mean, only one set where I got a tiebreak in two weeks is incredible."
That is among the things that have prompted Djokovic to declare this his best season ever.
"It already is. It's the best ever," he said. "No question about it. Everything is working well."
And he may not be done yet—Djokovic has not been defeated on an indoor hardcourt since the Paris Masters in 2011, with that stretch of the season to come. "I don't want to get carried away by success obviously because I want to be playing on this level for many years," he said.