Novak Djokovic Has an Unmatched Record of Winning the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters Back to Back

Carlos Alcaraz’s exit in Monaco in the hands of budding star Sebastian Korda in his first career match in Monte Carlo culminated in Djokovic retaining his record having been the only man to win the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters consecutively in the same season. The ‘Sunshine Double’ of securing Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back is considered to be a rare feat in tennis, with just 11 men and women breaking the record.

However, winning Miami and then Monte Carlo is even rarer because nobody except for Nole has done that. Although sports icon Rafael Nadal is expected to have the potential to match up, the Spaniard has shockingly never won the Miami Open. In addition, clinching the Paris Masters has been out of his reach. In 2015, Djokovic claimed his fourth ‘Sunshine Double’, which included a second Monte Carlo title in his record. He also became the champion in the 2015 Miami Open as he overcame Andy Murray in the finals. He headed to Monte-Carlo thereafter and defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.

Djokovic Could not Recreate His Previous Wins

The Serb thrashed Tomas Berdych to win the Monte-Carlo Masters but also a memorable double. He currently has won a total of six titles in Miami and two in Monte-Carlo. After missing the Australian Open earlier this year, he had intended to make a comeback but unfortunately lost the second-round match at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Open to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina from Spain. Nole admitted that he was unable to cope physically and found himself short of energy. "I didn't like the way I felt physically in the third set. I just ran out of the gas completely. I just couldn't really stay in the rally with him. If you can't stay in the rally, not feeling your legs on the clay, it's mission impossible," explained the world number one.

Djokovic Has Had a Rough Year So Far

After the Melbourne debacle, Djokovic couldn't show up at Indian Wells and Miami Masters on account of his vaccination status. The Serb experienced two back-to-back losses after losing to Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty Free Championships back in February. It was the last match he played before his next failure in Monte-Carlo. However, his greatness cannot be questioned owing to his previous Miami and Monte-Carlo records seven years ago.

On the contrary, rival Rafael Nadal hasn't reached past the quarterfinals at Monte-Carlo, entering the last eight in 2017 and 2019. After Djokovic's last Miami win in 2016, he hasn't reached past the fourth round of the competition. He exited in the first round in 2018, the fourth round in 2019, and did not participate in the 2017 and 2021 editions. Novak Djokovic will now appear in the upcoming Serbia Open in Belgrade, which commences on April 18, 2022.