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MAIN PHOTO: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates a point during the Semi-Final match against Jannik Sinner of Italy in the Davis Cup Final in Malaga, Spain.
MALE CHAMPION OF THE YEAR 2023
Novak Djokovic, born on May 22, 1987 in Belgrade, Serbia, hailed his 2023 season as “one of the best” after clinching a record-extending eighth year-end No. 1 finish in the men’s singles World Tennis Ranking. At the age of 36 and showing no sign of slowing down, the Serbian won seven titles from the 12 ATP tournaments he played in, including three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, French Open and US Open - and the ATP Finals, which he secured for a record seventh time. He reached the final at Wimbledon but lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
In February 2023 set the all-time record, man or woman, for number of weeks spent at the summit of the professional tennis rankings when he recorded his 378th week as men’s singles world No.1. By the end of the season he extended it to 405 weeks.
His US Open 2023 triumph in September saw him equal Margaret Court’s Open era record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Meanwhile he holds the record for the most Slam final appearances with 36.
This outstanding season has earned Djokovic, one of the greatest tennis players in history, his first AIPS Male Athlete of the Year award. In 2023, he remained a class apart from the chasing park and one of his main goals for 2024 is capturing an elusive Olympic gold medal in Paris.
1. DJOKOVIC NOVAK - Tennis, Serbia 616
2. Duplantis Armand - Athletics, Sweden 335
3. Messi Lionel - Football, Argentina 277
4. Haaland Erling - Football, Norway 229
5. Verstappen Max - Formula 1, The Netherlands 212
6. Alcaraz Carlos - Tennis, Spain 184
7. Kos Hubert - Swimming, Hungary 129
8. El Bakkali Soufiane - Athletics, Morocco 119
9. Jokic Nikola - Basketball, Serbia 115
10. MbappéKylian-Football,France
AIPS members from the following nations participated in the Best of 2023 poll:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Perù, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Yemen.
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PHOTO BY CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGES FOR ITF