2008 Novak Djokovic tennis season

Djokovic started his preparations for the season by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world No. 3 Jelena Janković where he won all of his four singles matches, including in the final against the United States, where he beat Mardy Fish in a deciding set tiebreak to level the tie, but then losing the decisive mixed doubles rubber,^[1] in which he faced former WTA No. 1 Serena Williams in a competitive event for the first time.^[2]

At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Grand Slam final, this time without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Federer in the semifinals.^[3] By reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player in the Open Era to have reached the semifinals in all four Grand Slam events.^[4] In the final, Djokovic defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn his first Grand Slam singles title.^[5] This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.^[5]

Djokovic became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam men's singles title.^[6]

At the Indian Wells Open, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating Mardy Fish in the final.^[7]

Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Italian Open in Rome after defeating Wawrinka in the final.^[8]

At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. He lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.^[9]

On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, where he lost in two sets. Djokovic entered Wimbledon seeded third but lost in the second round to Marat Safin, ending a streak of five consecutive majors where he had reached at least the semifinals.^[10]

Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Canadian Open in Toronto, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Andy Murray. The following week at the Cincinnati Open, Djokovic advanced to the final, beating Nadal in the semifinals, which not only ended the Spaniard's 32-match winning streak, but also delayed Nadal's first ascension to world No. 1 by a week.^[11] In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

In August, Djokovic represented Serbia in the tennis tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics, his first Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match.^[12]

After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open seeded third, where he defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals. To a smattering of boos in a post-match interview, Djokovic criticized Roddick for accusing him of making excessive use of the trainer during matches and for suggesting that he was faking his injuries.^[13] His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the previous year's final. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, beating Juan Martín del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko in the round-robin stage, and Gilles Simon in the semifinals. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko to win his first title at the year-end championship.^[14]

This table lists all the matches of Djokovic this year, including walkovers (W/O)

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (seed or key)	Rank	Result	Score
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 14 – 27 January 2008
	1 / 173	1R	Benjamin Becker	81	Win	6–0, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
	2 / 174	2R	Simone Bolelli	70	Win	6–1, 6–2, 6–2
	3 / 175	3R	Sam Querrey	62	Win	6–3, 6–1, 6–3
	4 / 176	4R	Lleyton Hewitt (19)	22	Win	7–5, 6–3, 6–3
	5 / 177	QF	David Ferrer (5)	5	Win	6–0, 6–3, 7–5
	6 / 178	SF	Roger Federer (1)	1	Win	7–5, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
	7 / 179	W	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	38	Win (1)	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Davis Cup World Group 1st Round: Russia vs Serbia Moscow, Russia Davis Cup Hard, indoor 8 – 10 February 2008
	8 / 180	RR	Nikolay Davydenko	4	Loss	6–4, 6–3, 4–6 Ret.
Marseille Open Marseille, France ATP 250 Hard, indoor 11 – 17 February 2008
	9 / 181	1R	Ivan Dodig (Q)	296	Win	6–1, 6–4
	10 / 182	2R	Gilles Simon	30	Loss	2–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6
Dubai Tennis Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates ATP 500 Hard, outdoor 3 – 9 March 2008
	11 / 183	1R	Marin Čilić	45	Win	6–4, 6–3
	12 / 184	2R	Fabrice Santoro	47	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
	13 / 185	QF	Igor Andreev	34	Win	6–2, 6–1
	14 / 186	SF	Andy Roddick (6)	6	Loss	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells, United States ATP 1000 Hard, outdoor 10 – 23 March 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	15 / 187	2R	Andreas Seppi	40	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
	16 / 188	3R	Philipp Kohlschreiber (27)	27	Win	6–3, 6–2
	17 / 189	4R	Guillermo Cañas (16)	16	Win	6–2, 6–3
	18 / 190	QF	Stan Wawrinka	35	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–2
	19 / 191	SF	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Win	6–3, 6–2
	20 / 192	W	Mardy Fish	98	Win (2)	6–2, 5–7, 6–3
Miami Open Miami, United States ATP 1000 Hard, outdoor 24 March – 6 April 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	21 / 193	2R	Kevin Anderson (Q)	122	Loss	6–7(1–7), 6–3, 4–6
Masters Series Monte-Carlo Monte Carlo, Monaco ATP 1000 Clay, outdoor 21 – 27 April 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	22 / 194	2R	Ivan Ljubičić	29	Win	6–3, 6–3
	23 / 195	3R	Andy Murray (14)	20	Win	6–0, 6–4
	24 / 196	QF	Sam Querrey	50	Win	6–4, 6–0
	25 / 197	SF	Roger Federer (1)	1	Loss	3–6, 2–3 Ret.
Italian Open Rome, Italy ATP 1000 Clay, outdoor 5 – 11 May 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	26 / 198	2R	Steve Darcis	49	Win	6–4, 6–0
	27 / 199	3R	Igor Andreev	26	Win	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
	28 / 200	QF	Nicolas Almagro	21	Win	6–1, 1–0 Ret.
	29 / 201	SF	Radek Štěpánek	27	Win	6–0, 1–0 Ret.
	30 / 202	W	Stan Wawrinka	24	Win (3)	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Hamburg Open Hamburg, Germany ATP 1000 Clay, outdoor 12 – 18 May 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	31 / 203	2R	Juan Ignacio Chela	39	Win	6–3, 6–1
	32 / 204	3R	Ivo Karlović	24	Win	7–6(7–3), 6–3
	33 / 205	QF	Albert Montañés	78	Win	6–2, 6–3
	34 / 206	SF	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Loss	5–7, 6–2, 2–6
French Open Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor 26 May – 8 June 2008
	35 / 207	1R	Denis Gremelmayr	64	Win	4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–2
	36 / 208	2R	Miguel Ángel López Jaén (Q)	264	Win	6–1, 6–1, 6–3
	37 / 209	3R	Wayne Odesnik (WC)	106	Win	7–5, 6–4, 6–2
	38 / 210	4R	Paul-Henri Mathieu (18)	19	Win	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
	39 / 211	QF	Ernests Gulbis	80	Win	7–5, 7–6(7–3), 7–5
	40 / 212	SF	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Loss	4–6, 2–6, 6–7(3–7)
Queens Club Championships London, England ATP 250 Grass, outdoor 9 June – 15 June 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	41 / 213	2R	Roko Karanušić	112	Win	6–2, 7–6(9–7)
	42 / 214	3R	Janko Tipsarević (13)	39	Win	2–6, 6–1, 6–4
	43 / 215	QF	Lleyton Hewitt (11)	30	Win	6–2, 6–2
	44 / 216	SF	David Nalbandian (4)	8	Win	6–1, 6–0
	45 / 217	F	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Loss	6–7(6–8), 5–7
Wimbledon Championships London, United Kingdom Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor 23 June – 6 July 2008
	46 / 218	1R	Michael Berrer	91	Win	7–5, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0
	47 / 219	2R	Marat Safin	75	Loss	4–6, 6–7(3–7), 2–6
Canadian Open Toronto, Canada ATP 1000 Hard, outdoor 21 – 27 July 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	48 / 220	2R	Frank Dancevic (WC)	82	Win	6–4, 6–4
	49 / 221	3R	Robin Söderling	49	Win	6–4, 6–4
	50 / 222	QF	Andy Murray (8)	9	Loss	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati, United States ATP 1000 Hard, outdoor 28 July – 3 August 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	51 / 223	2R	Simone Bolelli	50	Win	7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–2)
	52 / 224	3R	Andreas Seppi	39	Win	6–1, 6–2
	53 / 225	QF	Ernests Gulbis	53	Win	6–3, 6–4
	54 / 226	SF	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Win	6–1, 7–5
	55 / 227	F	Andy Murray (8)	9	Loss	6–7(4–7), 6–7(5–7)
2008 Summer Olympics Beijing, China Olympics Hard, outdoor 11 – 17 August 2008
	56 / 228	1R	Robby Ginepri	59	Win	6–4, 6–4
	57 / 229	2R	Rainer Schüttler	35	Win	6–4, 6–2
	58 / 230	3R	Mikhail Youzhny (13)	22	Win	7–6(7–3), 6–3
	59 / 231	QF	Gaël Monfils	43	Win	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
	60 / 232	SF	Rafael Nadal (2)	2	Loss	4–6, 6–1, 4–6
	61 / 233	SF-B	James Blake (8)	7	Win	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
US Open New York City, United States Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor 25 August – 7 September 2008
	62 / 234	1R	Arnaud Clément	78	Win	6–3, 6–3, 6–4
	63 / 235	2R	Robert Kendrick (Q)	113	Win	7–6(10–8), 6–4, 6–4
	64 / 236	3R	Marin Čilić (30)	24	Win	6–7(7–9), 7–5, 6–4, 7–6(7–0)
	65 / 237	4R	Tommy Robredo (15)	15	Win	4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
	66 / 238	QF	Andy Roddick (8)	8	Win	6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
	67 / 239	SF	Roger Federer (2)	2	Loss	3–6, 7–5, 5–7, 2–6
Davis Cup World Group Playoff: Slovakia vs Serbia Bratislava, Slovakia Davis Cup Hard, indoor 19 – 21 September 2008
	68 / 240	RR	Dominik Hrbatý	399	Win	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Thailand Open Bangkok, Thailand ATP 250 Hard, indoor 22 – 28 September 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	69 / 241	2R	Simon Stadler (Q)	141	Win	6–1, 6–3
	70 / 242	QF	Robin Söderling (6)	34	Win	6–4, 7–5
	71 / 243	SF	Tomáš Berdych (3)	27	Win	7–5, 6–1
	72 / 244	F	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2)	20	Loss	6–7(4–7), 4–6
Madrid Open Madrid, Spain ATP 1000 Hard, indoor 13 – 19 October 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	73 / 245	2R	Victor Hănescu (Q)	73	Win	6–7(8–10), 7–6(8–6), 3–1 Ret.
	74 / 246	3R	Ivo Karlović (14)	21	Loss (2)	6–7(4–7), 6–7(5–7)
Paris Masters Paris, France ATP 1000 Hard, indoor 27 October – 2 November 2008
	–	1R	Bye
	75 / 247	2R	Dmitry Tursunov	26	Win	6–2, 4–3 Ret.
	76 / 248	3R	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (13)	14	Loss	4–6, 6–1, 3–6
Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai, China ATP Finals Hard, indoor 10 – 16 November 2008
	77 / 249	RR	Juan Martin del Potro (7)	8	Win	7–5, 6–3
	78 / 250	RR	Nikolay Davydenko (4)	5	Win	7–6(7–3), 0–6, 7–5
	79 / 251	RR	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6)	7	Loss	6–1, 5–7, 1–6
	80 / 252	SF	Gilles Simon (8)	9	Win	4–6, 6–3, 7–5
	81 / 253	W	Nikolay Davydenko (4)	5	Win (4)	6–1, 7–5

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Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (seed or key)	Ranks	Result	Score
Davis Cup World Group 1st Round: Serbia vs Russia Moscow, Russia Davis Cup Hard, indoor 4 – 10 February 2008 Partner: Nenad Zimonjić
	1 / 37	RR	Dmitry Tursunov / Mikhail Youzhny	61 / 165	Win	6–3, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5)
Masters Series Monte-Carlo Monte Carlo, Monaco ATP 1000 Clay, outdoor 13 – 19 April 2009 Partner: Radek Štěpánek
	2 / 38	1R	Jordan Kerr / Rogier Wassen	26 / 28	Win	6–4, 6–3
	3 / 39	2R	Simon Aspelin / Julian Knowle (5)	9 / 9	Loss	2–6, 6–7(3–7)
Queens Club Championships London, England ATP 250 Grass, outdoor 9 June – 15 June 2008 Partner: Janko Tipsarević
	4 / 40	1R	Rik de Voest / Chris Haggard (ALT)	50 / 69	Loss	4–6, 6–7(4–7)
2008 Summer Olympics Beijing, China Olympics Hard, outdoor 11 – 17 August 2008 Partner: Nenad Zimonjić
	5 / 41	1R	Martin Damm / Pavel Vízner	27 / 14	Loss	6–3, 0–6, 2–6
Thailand Open Bangkok, Thailand ATP 250 Hard, indoor 22 – 28 September 2008 Partner: Marko Djoković
	6 / 42	1R	Fabrice Santoro / Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	87 / 80	Loss	2–6, 2–6
Paris Masters Paris, France ATP 1000 Hard, indoor 27 October – 2 November 2008 Partner: Viktor Troicki
	7 / 43	3R	José Acasuso / David Ferrer	93 / 421	Loss	4–6, 4–6

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