Novak Djokovic: Will He Have a Record-Setting Season?

Its been all the talk this year.

First Novak Djokovic was winning the Davis Cup in 2010 and leading the Serbian team to victory.

Then came a slightly surprising win in Melbourne at the Australian Open.

On and on it went, and never seemed to stop.

We all thought it might end at Indian Wells, but he won that tournament, too. Miami then, surely. But it didn't stop there, either. Nor did it end on the clay, and he was unbeaten heading into the French Open Paris, riding a 41-match winning streak.

Since losing to Roger Federer in one of the best matches of 2011, however, Djokovic has gone on to win three more titles, to add to a simply unbelievable haul of nine tournaments—including three grand slams (Wimbledon and the U.S. Open became almost foregone affairs).

As of September, Djokovic has amassed a 64-3 win-loss record and set his sights on having the greatest season in men's tennis since John McEnroe's 1984, in which the American was 82-3.

To match McEnroe, Djokovic must win another 18 matches, and he would have to more or less be without a loss for the rest of 2011.

It is a rather tough ask in the end, as fantastic a year as he has had. Of late, his body has revealed signs of the intense wear and tear it has suffered over the last nine months. He was in raw agony against Juan Martin del Potro in the Davis Cup semis (where, in something of an ominous turn of events, his loss saw Serbia out of the final, as much as his win in 2010 had seen her win the Cup), and looked all too mortal at moments in the U.S. Open.

Moreover, Djokovic hinted after the patriotic proceedings of the weekend that he might skip the Shanghai Masters and Beijing Open to earn some much-needed rest, which means that he would have to win the Basel Open, the Paris Masters, and the ATP World Tour Finals just to reach 79-3.

It still wouldn't be good enough. But I wouldn't bet on Djokovic wanting to risk more match wins in China, just for the record, especially when he might gain some undesirable losses, which would only lower his win-loss percentage.

As things stand, a record-setting year seems out of reach, but a record-equaling one may just be possible if Djokovic is willing to gamble on his back.

Even so majestic a year as Djokovic's 2011, then, may at the end fall ever so slightly short of McEnroe's monumental 1984.