It was No. 1 vs No. 2 to end the 2016 season and No. 1 vs No. 2 to start the 2017 season at the Qatar Open final – but will it be Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic standing proud at the end of the year?
A new season always brings with it an opportunity for players to stack up the numbers, achieve new landmarks, shatter records and create history.
All eyes will be on the rivalry between Murray and Djokovic of course, but other subplots include whether Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal can produce one last vintage performance, and if Stan Wawrinka can triumph again.
Here, Sport360 explores all the statistical milestones that some of tennis’ biggest stars will be aspiring to accomplish in the 2017 season.
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GRAND SLAMS
15 – Nadal will attempt to surpass Pete Sampras (14) and move into second position in the all-time Grand Slam winners’ list behind Federer (the Spaniard is Slam-less for the past two-and-a-half years). Djokovic (12) also stands a chance to match or surpass Sampras & Nadal.
50 – Federer (48 QFs) will bid to become the first man in history to reach 50 Grand Slam quarter-finals. Djokovic (37 QFs) will attempt to become the third man after Federer (48) and Jimmy Connors (41) to reach 40 quarter-finals.
233 – Djokovic (228) will look to go past Connors (233) and move into second position in the list of Grand Slam match wins. Federer (307) is the all-time leader after becoming the first man to register 300 Slam match wins in 2016.
Slam Match Record – Nadal (203-31; 86.75%) and Djokovic (228-36; 86.36%) will battle it out for second place in the Open era Grand Slam match win percentage record. Bjorn Borg is the leader with an 89.81% match record (141-16).
Grand Slam Main Draw Appearances – Roger Federer (68 Slams) will attempt to surpass Fabrice Santoro’s (70 Slams) record for the most ever appearances in Grand Slam singles events.
65 – Spaniard Feliciano López (59) will attempt to become only the second man after Federer (65) to feature in 60 straight Grand Slam events (Main Draw).
3 – Djokovic will bid for a multiple Grand Slam season for a third year in a row (2015-16). Federer is the all-time leader with four straight multiple Grand Slam seasons (2004-07).
7 – At the 2017 Australian Open, Djokovic (6) will look to become only the 4th man in the Open era to win 7+ titles at a single tournament, joining:
Pete Sampras – Wimbledon (7)
Roger Federer – Wimbledon (7)
Rafael Nadal – French Open (9)
21/20 – Djokovic (21 finals) & Nadal (20 finals) will battle it out for 2nd place on the all-time Grand Slam finals list. Federer tops it with 27 Grand Slam finals.
31 – Djokovic (31 SF) will look to take control of 2nd position in the all-time Grand Slam semi-finals list. The Serb is currently tied with Jimmy Connors at 31 major showings in the last four. Federer is the all-time leader with 40 major semi-finals.
8 – Federer will attempt to become the most decorated champion in history at SW 19 by winning his 8th Wimbledon title. He is currently tied with Brit William Renshaw and American Pete Sampras with seven Wimbledon titles.
1st time in #Emirates #ATP Rankings history, No 1 & 2 players meet in last tourn. of year & in 1st tourn. of next season. #QatarOpen
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) January 7, 2017
Triple Double – At the 2017 Australian Open, Djokovic will look to become only the 3rd man to achieve a 3-title streak twice at the same major →
Pete Sampras – Wimbledon – 3 (1993-95) & 4 (1997-00)
Rafael Nadal – French Open – 4 (2005-08) & 5 (2010-14)
Novak Djokovic – Aus Open – 3 (2011-13) & 2* (2015-16)
5+ – Djokovic will look to join Federer as the only players to have appeared in five finals at all majors:
Federer – AO (5) FO (5) WIM (10) USO (7) – 27
Djokovic – AO (6) FO (4) WIM (4) USO (7) – 21
80 – Federer will look to become the first man to record 80+ match wins at three Grand Slams. He needs two match wins at the US Open to achieve this feat → AO (80), FO (65), WIM (84), USO (78).
127 – Djokovic (119-16) will bid to surpass Agassi (127-24) and move into second position on the all-time Grand Slam hard court wins list. Federer is the all-time leader with 158 wins (158-24).
75 – Nadal (72) is out to surpass Guillermo Vilas (75) for the most Grand Slam matches won on clay.
10 – Rafa Nadal (9 Finals – French Open) will look to become only the second man in the Open era to reach 10 finals at a single Grand Slam event; matching Federer’s record of 10 finals at Wimbledon.
11 – At the 2017 US Open, Djokovic will look to become the third man after Jimmy Connors (12 USO; 1974-85) and Roger Federer (11 AO; 2004-14) to reach 11 straight semis at one Grand Slam.
