“One of the most amazing displays of age defiance in history of sports” – Novak Djokovic is 2023 player of the year, says tennis analyst

Tennis analyst Gill Gross has picked Novak Djokovic as the player of the year for 2023.

Djokovic had an 88.7 percent win/loss ratio in the year, winning 56 out of the 63 matches he played. He won a total of seven titles, including the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open, and the ATP Finals. On top of all of that, he secured the year-end World No. 1 finish for the eighth time in his career.

All of Djokovic's achievements prompted Gill Gross to pick him as the player of the year, in his annual award series on the Monday Match Analysis podcast. Gross hailed the Serb for his dominance over every other tennis player on the men's circuit at the age of 36.

"Your 2023 Monday Match Analysis player of the year goes to Novak Djokovic," he said. "It was one of the most amazing displays of age defiance in the history of sports in my opinion. Novak having one his greatest seasons at 36 years old."

"He won four out of the five biggest events of the year, came just one match away from the Calendar Slam. I didn’t realize this until trying to choose performance of the year but in all four of those five biggest events, his win came in straight sets… Dominance," Gross added.

Gross particularly highlighted Djokovic's first Grand Slam success of 2023, at the Australian Open, where he lost only one set in seven matches. With the triumph Down Under, his 22nd overall, the Serb went level with Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam winners' list.

"His Australian Open run was one of the most dominant runs of his career if you just look at the scorelines. That’s where he tied in the Slam race, he joined Nadal as the only man to have double-digit wins in a single Major, his tenth Australian Open title," Gross said.

Gross further touched on the World No. 1's success at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows.

"He went on to win at Roland Garros, that is when he took the lead in the Slam race," he said. "His third Roland Garros title gave him three or more titles at all four Slams, the only man to do that."

"In New York, similar to Australia, you know, where part of it was returning to an event that he wasn’t allowed to play last year but in this case, it was an event he hasn’t won since 2018. Yet he ripped through the second week, without coming close to losing a single match," the analyst added.

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"Novak Djokovic's forehand was a level up this year" - Tennis analyst Gill Gross

Novak Djokovic hits a forehand: 2023 US Open - Day 9

For Gill Gross, the most unbelievable part about Novak Djokovic's journey in the 2023 season was his ability to push through the age barrier.

"One of the things that stood out to me other than once again was just fending off the inevitable decline that every athlete eventually goes through when it comes to physicality and athleticism," Gross stated.

Gross suggested the biggest improvement in Djokovic's game was his forehand and volley.

"His forehand was a level up this year, massive in the Australian Open final, Roland Garros final, and Year-end championships in particular. At the US Open, never has his volleys been so important in him winning a Major title, never," the analyst said.