Novak Djokovic: Timeless Performance
Hublot Ambassador, Novak Djokovic, wins Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
Few athletes in any world sport had a better 2023 (or any year, for that matter) than tennis star Novak Djokovic, and his accomplishments led him to be named brand ambassador for Hublot watches and Laureus 2024 World Sportsman of the Year at a recent ceremony in Madrid.
It is the fifth time the 37-year-old Serbian has won the prestigious award, which is generally regarded as the Oscars of world sport, and in many ways the honour was never in doubt. In 2023, Djokovic won three Grand Slam tournaments the Australian, French and U.S. Opens, and he was a finalist at Wimbledon. He won seven titles overall during the calendar year and finished the season as the world’s top-ranked player for the eighth time. (Unfortunately, due to a knee injury, Djokovic had to withdraw from the French Open this June, which cost him his Number 1 ranking).
Djokovic’s career accomplishments are astonishing. Since he burst onto the scene in 2003, he has won a record 24 Grand Slam titles, breaking the record he shared with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. He has been ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 422 weeks throughout 13 different seasons. Overall, he has won 98 singles titles, including a record 71 big titles, a record 40 Masters events and a record seven ATP Finals.
Djokovic is approaching a point in his legendary career where he may be considered the best to ever have picked up a racket, an incredible achievement in a sport where names such as Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe, Björn Borg and Pete Sampras are spoken with hushed reverence, along with Federer and Nadal. He is the only man in tennis history to be the reigning champion of all four majors at once across three different court surfaces. In singles, he is the only man to achieve a triple Career Grand Slam and the only player to complete a career Gold Masters, a feat he has achieved twice.
Watching a Djokovic match, one thing is guaranteed. At some point, you will think to yourself, “There is no way he’s getting that shot,” only to shake your head in amazement when his speed and agility make the impossible possible. A common occurrence at a Djokovic match is 15,000 jaws dropping at once. He plays the game with the precision, style and meticulous craftsmanship that has made him a perfect match for the famed Swiss watchmaker Hublot, which engineers its watches with the same meticulous care and quality in making some of the world’s finest timepieces.
In 2021, Djokovic joined the Hublot family of ambassadors, an outstanding assemblage of world- famous achievers who are among the best in their chosen fields: athletes such as Usain Bolt and French football striker Kylian Mbappé, Michelin- starred chef Anne-Sophie Pic and renowned American artist Shepard Fairey.
In Madrid, Djokovic chose to wear Hublot’s Spirit of Big Bang All Black Pavé 42 mm to the glittering Laureus ceremony, which celebrated its 25th edition at the Cibeles Palace. Many of the biggest names from the world of sport, past and present, were in attendance to honour the greatest sportsmen, sportswomen and teams of 2023.
The winners were chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 69 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Past winners since the award’s inception in 2000 have included golfer Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel from Formula 1.
The Serbian star bested Max Verstappen (Formula 1), Lionel Messi (soccer), Erling Haaland (soccer), Noah Lyles (track and field) and Armand Duplantis (pole vault) to win the top men’s award, as he previously did in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019. With his win for 2023, Djokovic matches Roger Federer’s record as the most decorated male sportsman in this category.
