Djokovic's mastery top story of 2011 in tennis

LONDON — Novak Djokovic is about to find out what it takes to follow up on a nearly unbeatable season.

Gold standard: Novak Djokovic captured three of the four Grand Slam titles this season. AP

The 24-year-old Serb won three of the four Grand Slams titles, lifted seven other trophies and wrested the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal. His 70-6 record included a staggering 41-match winning streak to begin the season.

"It was incredible," Djokovic said. "I made so many wins in a row that I really didn't count any more. I was just trying to play one match at the time and trying to think how long the streak will go on, not when it will end."

Djokovic eventually fell one short of matching John McEnroe's record of 42 straight wins to begin the 1985 season. Despite that, the American great said the tougher competition and greater athleticism in today's game made the Serb's feat "more impressive."

The run also included four wins over Nadal, all in finals. Two of them came on the Spaniard's favorite clay surface.

Djokovic, who won the Australian Open early in the season, finally lost in June when Roger Federer prevailed in the French Open semifinals. But the Serb quickly picked himself up and swept the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles.

In New York, Federer seemed certain to repeat his Roland Garros success. He held two match points on serve in the fifth set of their semifinal match, but Djokovic saved both — the first with a blistering forehand return winner that was one of the year's most memorable moments.

It was also the perfect demonstration of the belief that Djokovic says was the key to his dramatic improvement in 2011 after a three-year gap since his first Grand Slam title in 2008.

"The truth is that this year, mentally I am more mature and a stronger player," he said. "I believe on the court more in my qualities, more that I can win against Federer and Nadal and all the top players."

While Djokovic's confidence soared, Nadal's seemed to drain away a little more with each loss.

Spain's Davis Cup win — its fifth since 2000 — at least provided a silver lining to a difficult season, but Nadal said dropping the team competition from his schedule in 2012 would be part of his mission to turn around his fortunes.

"My goal is always the same, be a better player in 2012 than I was in 2011," Nadal said.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion went through a season without a major for the first time since 2002. The failure of women's No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki to capture one of the big four tournaments was another of the season's talking points.

The 21-year-old Dane, whose boyfriend Rory McIlroy won his first golf major in 2011, finished the year as the top-ranked player thanks to six WTA Tour titles even though she didn't even reach a single Grand Slam final.

Kim Clijsters won her fourth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, while Li Na of China won her first at the French Open to become Asia's first major singles champion.

For Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, being on court at all was an achievement in itself after life-threatening blood clots on her lungs.

She returned after nearly a year away in June with what she called a "new perspective on life," but the 30-year-old American showed she had lost none of her fierce competitive spirit when she clashed with the umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her "a hater" and "unattractive inside."

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