Novak Djokovic had two goals in mind when he began his fall season at the Rolex Paris Masters less than a month ago. “The year-end No. 1 is on the line between Medvedev and myself, and I’m in a pretty good position in terms of the ranking points and the race, so that’s obviously the goal for the end of the season, other than trying to do well in the Davis Cup with the national team,” he said.
He claimed the year-end No. 1 ranking for the seventh time that week, the most in ATP history, and now he's in Innsbruck, Austria, seeking to lead Serbia to Davis Cup success. It would be the perfect cap to an already historic season in which he won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon, making him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969—18 years before he was born—to win the first three Grand Slams of the year, and tying him with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most career Grand Slam titles.
“I like the way I’m playing. I like my chances against anybody in the Davis Cup, really. I look forward to that. Obviously, the Davis Cup is a team competition, it doesn’t depend on me only—we have to try to win another singles or at least one singles, one doubles. Yeah, it’s a team effort. So hopefully the other guys are fit and ready. I’m very motivated to play for my country. Let’s hope for the best.” Novak added.
And Djokovic should be optimistic about his chances: he's won his past 15 Davis Cup singles matches in a row, with his last loss in the competition coming almost a decade ago, in the World Group Semifinals to Juan Martin del Potro in September 2011. Since the beginning of 2010, when Serbia won the Davis Cup by defeating France in the final, the Serb has won 22 of his past 23 singles matches.