Djokovic & Thiem: The 2019 Title Kings
Djokovic & Thiem: The 2019 Title Kings
Continuing ATPTour.com’s Best of 2019 series, we look at some of the most noteworthy stats from the season, and how they contributed to how the year played out.
Singles Title Leaders In 2019
There was no runaway leader for most singles titles in 2019, with Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem each lifting five trophies. In Dubai, Roger Federer, who claimed four titles on the season, became the second player to crack the 100-title mark, and he is now within six triumphs of Jimmy Connors’ record 109 tour-level trophies.
Player | Hard | Clay | Grass | Total Titles |
Novak Djokovic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Dominic Thiem | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
Roger Federer | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Daniil Medvedev | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Rafael Nadal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Most Singles Finals In 2019
One of the most impressive runs of 2019 came when Daniil Medvedev reached the final of six straight tour-level events he played in, a stretch that included his first ATP Masters 1000 final (Montreal), Masters 1000 title (Cincinnati) and Grand Slam final (US Open).
Player | Finals |
Daniil Medvedev | 9 (4-5) |
Dominic Thiem | 7 (5-2) |
Novak Djokovic | 6 (5-1) |
Roger Federer | 6 (4-2) |
Stefanos Tsitsipas | 6 (3-3) |
Doubles Title Leaders
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah followed up their breakthrough campaign in 2018 by finishing year-end No. 1 in 2019, winning five tour-level titles together along the way.
Player | Titles |
Juan Sebastian Cabal | 5 |
Robert Farah | 5 |
Pierre-Hugues Herbert | 4 |
Nicolas Mahut | 4 |
Ivan Dodig | 4 |
Edouard Roger-Vasselin | 4 |
Players who were trying to win their first ATP Tour title went 15-22 in finals in 2019. The 15 champions is the most first-time winners in a season since 1999 when there were 16 (13-20 in 2018 finals). This year’s first-time titlists were Alex de Minaur (Sydney), Tennys Sandgren (Auckland), Juan Ignacio Londero (Cordoba), Reilly Opelka (New York), Laslo Djere (Rio de Janeiro), Radu Albot (Delray Beach), Guido Pella (Sao Paulo), Cristian Garin (Houston), Adrian Mannarino (‘s-Hertogenbosch), Taylor Fritz (Eastbourne), Lorenzo Sonego (Antalya), Nicolas Jarry (Bastad), Dusan Lajovic (Umag), Hubert Hurkacz (Winston-Salem) and Denis Shapovalov (Stockholm).
Youngest Champions
Player | Tournament | Age |
Alex de Minaur | Sydney | 19 years, 11 months |
Denis Shapovalov | Stockholm | 20 years, 6 months, 5 days |
Stefanos Tsitsipas | Marseille | 20 years, 6 months, 12 days |
Reilly Opelka | New York | 21 years, 5 months |
Taylor Fritz | Eastbourne | 21 years, 8 months |
Youngest Finals
Stuttgart: Matteo Berrettini (23) d. Felix Auger-Aliassime (18)
Atlanta: Alex de Minaur (20) d. Taylor Fritz (21)
Rio de Janeiro: Laslo Djere (23) d. Felix Auger-Aliassime (18)
Oldest Champions
Player | Tournament | Age |
Roger Federer | Basel | 38 years, 2 months |
Feliciano Lopez | London/Queen’s Club | 37 years, 9 months |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | Metz | 34 years, 5 months |
John Isner | Newport | 34 years, 3 months |
Rafael Nadal | US Open | 33 years, 3 months |
Oldest Finals
Pune: Kevin Anderson (32) d. Ivo Karlovic (39)
London/Queen’s Club: Feliciano Lopez (37) d. Gilles Simon (34)
Miami: Roger Federer (37) d. John Isner (33)
Lowest-Ranked Champions
One of the most memorable moments of the season came in October at the European Open, where Andy Murray won his first ATP Tour singles title since February 2017. The Scot emerged victorious from a captivating three-set final against former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who was seeking his first crown since May 2017.
Player | Tournament | ATP Ranking |
Andy Murray | Antwerp | No. 243 |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | Montpellier | No. 213 |
Feliciano Lopez | London/Queen’s Club | No. 113 |
Juan Ignacio Londero | Cordoba | No. 112 |
Laslo Djere | Rio de Janeiro | No. 90 |
Finals Between Top 10 Players: 12
Finals Between Top 5 Players: 5
Titles Won Without Losing A Set: 18
Champions Who Saved Match Point During Tournament: 10
Titlists Who Saved Championship Point
Player | Opponent | Tournament | Match Points Saved |
Radu Albot | Daniel Evans | Delray Beach | 3 |
Alexander Zverev | Nicolas Jarry | Geneva | 2 |
Lorenzo Sonego | Miomir Kecmanovic | Antalya | 1 |
Novak Djokovic | Roger Federer | Wimbledon | 2 |
Longest Best-of-Three Match: Lorenzo Sonego def. Federico Delbonis, Kitzbühel R1, 3:36
Longest Final: Radu Albot def. Daniel Evans 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7), Delray Beach, 2:51
Shortest Final: Taylor Fritz def. Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4, Eastbourne, 1:01
Repeat Champions
Rafael Nadal | Rome |
Rafael Nadal | Roland Garros (three-peat) |
Novak Djokovic | Wimbledon |
Nikoloz Basilashvili | Hamburg |
Rafael Nadal | Canada |
Roger Federer | Basel (three-peat) |
Most Titles By Country
Spaniards led the way in the titles department, lifting eight trophies this season. There were three all-countrymen finals in 2019, taking place in Cordoba (Argentines), Montpellier (Frenchmen) and Eastbourne (Americans).
Country | Titles | Most Titles By One Player |
Spain | 8 | Rafael Nadal (4) |
Serbia | 7 | Novak Djokovic (5) |
France | 6 | Benoit Paire (2) |
Russia | 5 | Daniil Medvedev (4) |
Australia | 5 | Alex de Minaur (3) |
Austria | 5 | Dominic Thiem (5) |
Italy | 5 | Matteo Berrettini (2) |
Most Wins Against The Top 10: Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas (9)
Most Decisive-Set Wins: Guido Pella, Borna Coric (17)
Most Wins After Losing First Set: Borna Coric (13)
Most Fifth-Set Wins: 5 (Kei Nishikori, Alexander Zverev
Longest Winning Streaks
Player | Winning Streak |
Rafael Nadal | 17 |
Rafael Nadal | 14 |
Daniil Medvedev | 12 |
Roger Federer | 11 |
Novak Djokovic | 10 |
Biggest ATP Rankings Risers Into Top 100
This season, the two biggest risers in the ATP Rankings came from two opposite experience levels. Jannik Sinner, who turned 18 on 16 August, had never played a tour-level match before 2019. But he won 11 matches, including a season-ending triumph at the Next Gen ATP Finals. The youngest player in the Top 100 is up to a career-high World No. 78, one of eight Italians inside the Top 100.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has climbed as high as World No. 5, but he began this year at No. 259 due to a left knee injury that kept him out for seven months. The Frenchman bounced back, winning titles in Montpellier and Metz this year to finish the season at No. 29.
Player | Ranking To Start ’19 | Ranking To Finish ’19 | Ranking Jump |
Jannik Sinner | No. 763 | No. 78 | +685 |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | No. 259 | No. 29 | +230 |
Mikael Ymer | No. 281 | No. 74 | +207 |
Soonwoo Kwon | No. 253 | No. 88 | +165 |
Daniel Evans | No. 199 | No. 42 | +157 |
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