"Best year potentially on men's tour in 50 years": High praise from Brad Gilbert towards Novak Djokovic as Year End No.1 confirmed

Brad Gilbert showered Novak Djokovic with praise for his remarkable achievement in finishing 2023 as the world No. 1.

The 24-times Grand Slam champion maintains his incredible consistency at the age of 36 and will end the year at the top of the rankings for the eighth time in his career. Djokovic secured victories in three out of the four Grand Slam events, with his only setback occurring at Wimbledon, where he lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz.

Despite playing in a limited number of tournaments throughout the year, the Serbian athlete compiled an impressive record of 52-5, clinching six titles. Following his triumph over Holger Rune in the first match of the ATP Finals, Djokovic secured the world No. 1 ranking until 2024.

Former coach of Andre Agassi, Brad Gilbert, expressed his admiration for Djokovic's incredible feat on his X account (formerly Twitter). He asserted that this year marked the best performance by a tennis player in the 50-year history of the ATP Tour:

“This is 50th year of @atptour Djoker @DjokerNole his amazing 8th number one finish, 27-1 in slams, missed 4 hardcourt 1000’s hasn’t lost before finals since May, at 36 years young i will put this as best year potentially on men’s tour in 50 years," Gilbert wrote

'Nole' received the trophy as the best tennis player of the year after defeating Rune and did not hide his excitement for the fantastic year he had:

“One of the best years. I wouldn't say the best, but one of the best. I mean, the fact that I've won three out of four slams and played a final the fourth and it's still not the best year of my life, it's quite nice to have that kind of situation (smiling),” he said.

“It's definitely one of the best seasons. I mean, I had couple of years, I think three times, that I won three out of four slams in a season, like 2011, 2015. In those years, I won more matches. I mean, I played more tournaments. I was really, I mean, feeling very dominant on the tour,” Djokovic stated.

“It's quite different circumstances this year comparing to all the other years because I played, what, 10, 11 tournaments this year. I played very well - least of anybody. I just managed to peak at the right tournaments, at the right time. That's what matters to me really,” world No. 1 added.