The 2010 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially commenced on January 4 with the start of the 2010 ATP World Tour.

Yearly summary

Early hard court season After playing nearly a hundred matches in 2009, Djokovic stated that he was "fed up with matches", so he decided not to play any ranking tournaments before the Australian Open, thus starting his year by playing in the AAMI Classic, an exhibition event, where he beat Tommy Haas, but lost to Fernando Verdasco and teenager Bernard Tomic.

Australian Open

Djokovic eased through the initial four rounds of the first Grand Slam of the year, dropping just one set to Marco Chiudinelli. In a repeat of the 2008 final, Djokovic faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals. Tsonga "gained revenge with an absorbing – albeit error-strewn – victory against the third seed in a match lasting almost four hours." Djokovic had convincingly won the third set 6–1 but soon after left the court having told the umpire that he was about to vomit. After the medical time out, Djokovic returned to the court but "quickly found himself 5–0 down and never really recovered." Tsonga eventually progressed by way of a 7–6(8–6) 6–7(5–7) 1–6 6–3 6–1 victory.

Dubai Tennis Championships

Despite the loss, he attained a career-high ranking of No. 2 and went on to reach the semifinals in Rotterdam, where he lost to Mikhail Youzhny. At the Dubai Championships, Djokovic reached the final, this time defeating Youzhny to win his first title of the year and to successfully defend a title for the first time in his career.

Indian Wells and Miami Opens

After early exits at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, Djokovic announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.

Clay court season On 6–8 March 2010, Djokovic then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the United States on clay in Belgrade, where he played a key role in helping his country reach the quarterfinal in the Davis Cup for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches against Sam Querrey and John Isner in a 3–2 victory.

At the Monte-Carlo Masters, top-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals with wins over Wawrinka and David Nalbandian before losing to Verdasco. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Italian Open in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals. As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarterfinals while trailing No. 319 Filip Krajinović, the lowest-ranked player to ever beat Djokovic as well as the only time that Djokovic lost to a player outside the Top 200.

French Open

Djokovic entered the French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarter-finals, where he lost to No. 22 Jürgen Melzer in a five-set match that lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes, marking the first of two instances he lost a match at a major after leading two sets to love. Despite suffering from hayfever-like symptoms, Djokovic managed to save two match points before eventually relinquishing the match. It was the first time Melzer reached the last four of a Grand Slam event.

Grass court season Djokovic then won the first ATP doubles titles of his career at the Aegon Championships, pairing with Jonathan Erlich to beat Karol Beck and David Škoch in the final.

Wimbledon

Again seeded third, Djokovic defeated Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent and Albert Montañés to set up a fourth-round encounter with former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Djokovic eventually progressed to his second Wimbledon semi-final against Tomáš Berdych, the Czech having upset Roger Federer in the previous round. "Djokovic had won both the previous matches between the two and as the world no. 3 was the higher-ranked player, far more experienced at this level, having played in six previous semi-finals." Nevertheless, Berdych overcame Djokovic in straight sets, setting up a final with Rafael Nadal.

Fall hard court season Djokovic then competed at the Canadian Open in Toronto, where he lost to Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic also competed in doubles with Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership. This had not happened since 1976, when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as No. 1 and No. 2 paired together as a doubles team. They lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.

Cincinnati Open

Djokovic then lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open.

US Open

Djokovic came very close to losing in his opening round against Viktor Troicki in extreme heat. He then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake, Mardy Fish, and no. 17 seed Gaël Monfils, all in straight sets, to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets after saving 2 match points with forehand winners while serving to stay in the match at 4–5 in the 5th set. It was Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts and his first victory over Federer in a Major since the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

China Open

After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed, where he successfully defended his title after defeating David Ferrer in the final. At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semifinal appearance, losing to Federer.

ATP Finals

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the ATP Finals in London, where he lost to Federer in the semifinals.

Davis Cup glory

Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and the Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils. He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki. These two singles rubbers wins started a long unbeaten run that went on into 2011.

Djokovic finished the year ranked No. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position. He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

All matches This table chronicles all the matches of Djokovic in 2010, including walkovers (W/O) which the ATP does not count as wins. They are marked ND for non-decision or no decision.

Singles matches Round Rank Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor January 18, 2010 Daniel Gimeno Traver 7–5, 6–3, 6–2 Marco Chiudinelli 3–6, 6–1, 6–1, 6–3 Denis Istomin 6–1, 6–1, 6–2 Łukasz Kubot 6–1, 6–2, 7–5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–7(8–10), 7–6(7–5), 6–1, 3–6, 1–6 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Rotterdam, Netherlands ATP 500 Hard, indoor February 8, 2010 Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–2, 4–1 Ret. Marco Chiudinelli 6–4, 6–2 Florian Mayer N/A Mikhail Youzhny 6–7(5–7), 6–7(6–8) Dubai Tennis Championships Dubai, UAE ATP 500 Hard, outdoor February 22, 2010 Guillermo García López 6–4, 6–4 Viktor Troicki 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 Ivan Ljubičić 2–6, 6–4, 6–0 Marcos Baghdatis 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–4 Mikhail Youzhny Win (1) 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 Davis Cup World Group 1st Round: Serbia vs USABelgrade, Serbia Davis Cup Clay, indoor March 5, 2010 Sam Querrey 6–2, 7–6(7–4), 2–6, 6–3 John Isner 7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–4 BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor March 11, 2010 Bye Mardy Fish 6–1, 0–6, 6–2 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–3) Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6 Sony Ericsson Open Miami, United States ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor March 22, 2012 Bye Olivier Rochus 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 4–6 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Monte Carlo, Monaco ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor April 11, 2010 Bye Florent Serra 6–2, 6–3 Stanislas Wawrinka 6–4, 6–4 David Nalbandian 6–2, 6–3 Fernando Verdasco 2–6, 2–6 Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome, Italy ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Clay, outdoor April 25, 2010 Bye Jérémy Chardy 6–1, 6–1 Thomaz Bellucci 6–4, 6–4 Fernando Verdasco 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 4–6 Serbia Open Belgrade, Serbia ATP World Tour 250 Clay, outdoor May 3, 2010 Bye Fabio Fognini 6–4, 6–4 Filip Krajinović 4–6, Ret. French Open Paris, France Grand Slam tournament Clay, outdoor May 24, 2010 Evgeny Korolev 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 Kei Nishikori 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 Victor Hănescu 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 Robby Ginepri 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 Jürgen Melzer 6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 6–7(3–7), 4–6 Queens Club Championships London, England ATP World Tour 250 Grass, outdoor June 7, 2010 Bye Paolo Lorenzi 6–3, 6–3 Xavier Malisse 3–6, 6–4, 2–6 Wimbledon Championships London, England Grand Slam tournament Grass, outdoor June 21, 2010 Olivier Rochus 4–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 Taylor Dent 7–6(7–5), 6–1, 6–4 Albert Montañés 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 Lleyton Hewitt 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 Lu Yen-hsun 6–3, 6–2, 6–2 Tomáš Berdych 3–6, 6–7(9–11), 3–6 Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals: Croatia vs SerbiaSplit, Croatia Davis Cup Hard, indoor July 9, 2010 Ivan Ljubičić 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–1 Marin Čilić 6–3, 6–3, 6–2 Canadian Open Toronto, Canada ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor August 7, 2010 Bye Julien Benneteau 7–5, 7–5 Victor Hănescu 6–3, 6–4 Jérémy Chardy 6–2, 6–3 Roger Federer 1–6, 6–3, 5–7 Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati, USA ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor August 14, 2010 Bye Viktor Troicki 6–3, 7–5 David Nalbandian 6–1, 7–6(9–7) Andy Roddick 4–6, 5–7 US Open New-York, USA Grand Slam tournament Hard, outdoor August 30, 2010 Viktor Troicki 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–3 Marco Chiudinelli 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(8–6) James Blake 6–1, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 Gaël Monfils 7–6(7–2), 6–1, 6–2 Roger Federer 5–7, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 7–5 Rafael Nadal 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 Davis Cup World Group Semifinals: Serbia vs Czech RepublicBelgrade, Serbia Davis Cup Hard, indoor September 17, 2010 Tomáš Berdych 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 China Open Beijing, China ATP 500 Hard, outdoor October 4, 2010 Gong Maoxin 6–1, 6–3 Mardy Fish N/A Gilles Simon 6–3, 6–2 John Isner 7–6(7–1), 6–2 David Ferrer Win (2) 6–2, 6–4 Shanghai Masters Shanghai, China ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, outdoor October 11, 2010 Bye Ivan Ljubičić 6–3, 6–3 Richard Gasquet 6–1, 6–1 Guillermo García López 6–2, 6–3 Roger Federer 5–7, 4–6 Swiss Indoors Basel, Switzerland ATP 500 Hard, indoor November 1, 2010 Ernests Gulbis 6–4, 6–2 Jarkko Nieminen 6–4, 7–6(8–6) Robin Haase 6–2, 6–3 Viktor Troicki 7–6(7–4), 6–4 Roger Federer 4–6, 6–3, 1–6 BNP Paribas Masters Paris, France ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Hard, indoor November 7, 2010 Bye Juan Mónaco 6–4, 6–3 Michaël Llodra 6–7(6–8), 2–6 ATP World Tour Finals London, England Year-end Championships Hard, indoor November 21, 2010 Tomáš Berdych 6–3, 6–3 Rafael Nadal 5–7, 2–6 Andy Roddick 6–2, 6–3 Roger Federer 1–6, 4–6 Davis Cup World Group Final: Serbia vs FranceBelgrade, Serbia Davis Cup Hard, indoor December 3, 2010 Gilles Simon 6–3, 6–1, 7–5 Gaël Monfils 6–2, 6–2, 6–4 Source

Doubles matches

Source

Exhibition matches

Tournament schedule

Singles schedule