• Review of the year

Dominant Djokovic cleans up

Jo Carter December 24, 2011

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are widely regarded to be two of the greatest players to swing a racket, but they were left in the shade by Novak Djokovic in 2011.

When Djokovic helped guide Serbia to a first Davis Cup title in December 2010, little did he suspect that those two wins in Belgrade would be the beginning of an astonishing 43-match unbeaten streak stretching all the way to June.

Having fallen at the final hurdle in Melbourne the previous year, Britain's Andy Murray reached the Australian Open final for a second consecutive year. With Djokovic having seen off defending champion Federer, Murray's path to his first grand slam final appeared to open up, but once again the Scot came up short as Djokovic regained the title he won back in 2008 before scooping titles in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.

After back-to-back final defeats to Djokovic in America, world No. 1 Nadal finally got his hands on his first trophy of the year in Monte Carlo (albeit in the absence of Djokovic) - but surely Djokovic couldn't trouble the King of Clay?

But he could, and he did, as he swept to titles in Madrid and Rome, as Nadal was left scratching his head. As the players headed to Paris for the second grand slam of the year, the question on everybody's lips was simply, 'Who is going to stop Djokovic?'.

The answer was Federer, as the 16-time grand slam champion claimed a thrilling French Open semi-final victory before falling to Nadal in the final as the Spaniard equalled Bjorn Borg's record of six titles at Roland Garros.

But Djokovic was not done there, as he enjoyed a glorious fortnight in London, winning Wimbledon before being crowned world No. 1. For the second straight year, Djokovic saved two match points in a US Open semi-final against Federer before claiming his third grand slam of the year in New York.

Djokovic began to pay the price for his exertions, and Andy Murray took full advantage to storm to a hat-trick of tournaments in Asia, while Federer ended the year on a high to claim titles in Basel, Paris before clinching a record sixth ATP World Tour Finals crown in London.

On the women's tour, Kim Clijsters claimed her fourth grand slam title, beating Li Na to win the Australian Open, but a catalogue of injuires brought an abrupt end to her season. Li went one better in Paris, beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone to become the first Asian major winner.

At Wimbledon, Sabine Lisicki was the darling of the English crowds, but it was Petra Kvitova who brushed aside former champion Maria Sharapova to claim her first grand slam title.

Serena Williams was limited to just five tournaments as she recovered from a serious health scare, but she was red-hot favourite in New York, where after back-to-back titles in Stanford and Toronto, she cruised into the final, only to lose her rag as Sam Stosur produced the performance of her life to stun the 13-time grand slam champion.

Like Murray, Caroline Wozniacki's hunt for a grand slam continues, but she finished the season as world No. 1 for a second straight year ahead of Kvitova, who jumped more than 30 places up the rankings in 2011.

Below ESPN reviews the biggest moments, the dominant characters and the memorable controversies of 2011, beginning with our star man.

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Star man: Novak Djokovic

Ranked at No. 3 heading into the new year, Novak Djokovic emerged as an unbeatable force in 2011, finishing the year with ten titles, three grand slams, the No. 1 ranking and a not-insignificant $12,619,803 in prize money.

His astonishing 43-match unbeaten streak run finally came to an end at the hands of Roger Federer in Paris, but his aura of invincibility was only temporarily penetrated as he claimed victories at Wimbledon and the US Open. It needed something special to barge in on the Roger-Rafa show, and with talent, grit, and personality in equal measure, Djokovic has proved a worthy successor to the prestigious claim of being the best tennis player on the planet.

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Champagne Moment: Novak Djokovic - Wimbledon

Djokovic achieved two lifelong ambitions within the space of a few days - winning his second grand slam of the year at Wimbledon before overtaking Nadal as the world No. 1 - the first time since February 2004 that a name other than Federer or Nadal sat at the top of the ATP rankings. As Djokovic sealed victory over Nadal in the final, the Serb sank to the floor and proceeded to munch on the famous Centre Court turf. "It's the most special day of my life," said an emotional Djokovic. "It's my favourite tournament and I always dreamt of winning. I think I'm still sleeping and having a dream."

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Surprise Package: Bernard Tomic

Ranked outside the world's top 200 at the start of the season, Bernard Tomic enjoyed a breakthrough year on the ATP Tour. After coming through three rounds of qualifying, the Australian teenager became the youngest man to make the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 25 years, leaving Nikolay Davydenko and Robin Soderling trailing in his wake as he blazed into the quarters, where he fell to eventual champion Djokovic. Nicknamed A-Tomic, the Australian teenager has the physique, power and variety to his game, and is widely tipped to be a future grand slam champion.

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Best match: Federer v Tsonga - Wimbledon

Roger Federer had never lost a grand slam match from two sets up, but that unblemished record came to an abrupt end at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon. The affable Frenchman left everything on Centre Court as he took the game to Federer, throwing himself around the court in a thrilling display of gung-ho tennis to secure a memorable 3-6 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory.

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Biggest Upset: Andy Murray - Indian Wells

While Novak Djokovic was winning titles for fun, Andy Murray was suffering a second case of spring fever, also known as post-Australian Open final blues. After an opening-round defeat to Marcos Baghdatis in Rotterdam, Murray suffered one of the most humiliating defeats of his career as he slumped to a 7-6(4) 6-3 reverse at the hands of world No. 143 Donald Young in Indian Wells. It didn't get much better in Miami, either, where Murray slumped to a third straight defeat at the hands of Alex Bogolomov Jr.

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Biggest disappointment: Serena Williams

Williams endured a nightmare 12 months, recovering from a nasty foot injury, only to suffer a major health scare with 13-time grand slam champion hospitalised after a blood clot was discovered on her lungs. After nearly a year out, Williams made her return to action in Eastbourne in June preparation for the defence of her Wimbledon title, where after falling in the fourth round to Marion Bartoli, Williams slumped to No. 175 in the world rankings. However, by the US Open Williams had picked up titles in Stanford and Toronto and was red-hot favourite to win a fouth title at Flushing Meadows. Despite marching into the final, the 13-time major champion was well beaten by an inspired Sam Stosur. But it was the nature of Williams' defeat that was the most unsatisfactory, as she launched a tirade of abuse at the umpire, accusing chair umpire Eva Asderaki of being "unattractive on the inside".

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Talking point: Scheduling issues

Hurricane Irene's arrival in New York was the final straw in a long-running saga, with players increasingly unhappy at the length of the ATP Tour season. After days of rain delays, including a classic Andy Roddick rant at the umpire, the players' frustrations began to spill over, with Andy Murray claiming the ATP calendar needed a serious overhaul. "The schedule's messed up and we need to change it," Murray said, before he even suggested the top players could consider strike action. With minor changes to the schedule in 2012, will the players be happy, or will this issue just keep running?

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Quotes of the year:

" I do think it's stupid in tennis. We wonder where we lose our ratings battles to the WWE, Monday Night Raw"
Andy Roddick reckons throwing a few rackets around could boost the sport's popularity.

" I think it is about time she stopped with that nonsense. It makes me want to throw up, it is disgusting."
Andy Murray was embarrassed by his mother Judy's ogling of Feliciano aka Deliciano Lopez.

"Rennae Stubbs showed me a text message you sent her. You said: 'She looks really grumpy and her boobs are bigger'"
Kim Clijsters made Todd Woodbridge squirm after he suggested she might be pregnant

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