It’s often said that men’s tennis is deeper and more competitive than it has ever been. And it’s true; the sport has never been played at a higher level. But over the last five years, it hasn’t been the excellence of the ATP as a whole that’s been most impressive. It has been the dominance of the top players despite that depth. Since 2006, we’ve seen three players—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—put together seasons that rank among the most gloriously accomplished of the Open era.
Now that the third and perhaps finest of those seasons, Djokovic’s remarkable 2011, is complete, it seems like a good time to look back at where it—as well as Federer’s and Nadal’s best years—fits among the greatest single seasons of the Open era. There’s no right answer, and that’s what makes this parlor game so much fun. Here we present our countdown of the 10 best men’s seasons since the Open era began in 1968.
No. 3: Novak Djokovic, 2011
Novak Djokovic didn’t finish 2011 well, but that shouldn’t cause us to forget how brilliantly he began it, and how brilliantly he continued it through the Grand Slam season. Djokovic started by winning his second Australian Open, but he didn’t stop there. He went on to tie John McEnroe’s record for consecutive wins to open a season, with 42, a streak that included wins in four straight finals over top-ranked Rafael Nadal. What was unprecedented was that two of those wins came in Masters finals on clay, a surface that the Spaniard had always owned. But like McEnroe, the 43rd match, at the French Open, was one too many for Djokovic: He lost a classic semifinal to Roger Federer. Djokovic was back on track at Wimbledon, where he beat Nadal in yet another final. The capper came in the year’s last major, the U.S. Open, where Djokovic saved two match points to beat Federer in the semis, and then ground down the previously indefatigable Nadal. He won three Slams and a record five Masters titles, but what elevates Djokovic’s season above virtually all others is what he did against two all-time greats: It’s one thing to go 82-3 against everybody like McEnroe did in 1984; it’s even more impressive to go 10-1 against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Check TENNIS.com each day for the next season on the list.
A version of this story was originally published in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of TENNIS.