The 2019 Novak Djokovic tennis season officially began on 1 January 2019, in the first round of the Qatar Open, and ended 22 November 2019 after Serbia defeat by Russia in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals.
Yearly summary
Early hard court season
World Tennis Championship
Novak Djokovic started the season by playing the World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament on the last week of 2018. He defeated Karen Khachanov and Kevin Anderson to win the tournament for a fourth time.
Qatar Open
Djokovic's first official tournament was the Qatar Open. He reached the semifinals by defeating Damir Džumhur, Márton Fucsovics and Nikoloz Basilashvili, but lost in three sets to eventual champion Roberto Bautista Agut.
Australian Open
Djokovic entered the Australian Open as the top seed. He defeated qualifier Mitchell Krueger, 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 25th seed Denis Shapovalov, 15th seed Daniil Medvedev, 8th seed Kei Nishikori, and 28th seed Lucas Pouille to reach the final, in which he beat 2nd seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets to win his 15th Major and a record 7th Australian Open.
Indian Wells Masters
Djokovic's next tournament was the Indian Wells Masters, where he received a first round bye along with 31 seeded players. He won his first match since Australian Open title against Bjorn Fratangelo, but was defeated in two sets by Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.
Miami Open
After his early exit at Indian Wells, Djokovic played at the Miami Open where he had previously won six times. After defeating Bernard Tomic and Federico Delbonis, Djokovic faced Roberto Bautista Agut. Djokovic won the first set and went a break up in second set, before a rain delay that seemingly disrupted his momentum. Djokovic eventually lost the match in three sets. After 41 straight wins, it was the first time Djokovic had lost in Miami after winning the first set. After the match, Djokovic admitted being affected by off-court distractions during the tournament.
Clay Court Season
Monte-Carlo Masters
Djokovic's clay court season commenced at the Monte Carlo Masters, which was played in the third week of April. Djokovic received an opening round bye, and made his clay court debut against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round, which he won in three tight sets. He reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in three sets.
Madrid Open
Djokovic followed his Monte Carlo quarterfinal run with a record-tying 33rd Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals. Djokovic won the tournament without dropping a set, securing his third career title at the event.
Italian Open
At the 2019 Italian Open, Djokovic defeated Denis Shapovalov and Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets to progress to the quarterfinals. In his next match, Djokovic had to fend off two match points to prevail over Juan Martin del Potro in three sets. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Diego Schwartzman in three sets to progress to the finals, where he faced his rival Rafael Nadal for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open. Their 54th encounter saw Nadal prevailing over Djokovic in three sets, that included a bagel in the first set.
French Open
Djokovic entered the French Open aiming to win a fourth straight grand slam title, and becoming the first man in Open Era to win all four grand slams at least twice. He breezed through the tournament and reached the semifinals without dropping a set, after defeating Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he narrowly lost to Dominic Thiem in a close five set match which lasted two days due to numerous rain delays, ending his 26-match winning streak in grand slam tournaments.
Grass court season
Wimbledon
At Wimbledon, he won his sixteenth Grand Slam, defending his title to win the tournament for a fifth time by defeating Roger Federer in an epic five set final that lasted four hours and fifty seven minutes, the longest in Wimbledon history. Djokovic saved two championship points in the fifth set en route to winning the title and the match also marked the first time a fifth set tiebreak was played in the men's singles of Wimbledon at 12 games all.
North American hard court season
Cincinnati Masters
Djokovic played his US open warm up in Cincinnati. He got a bye to the second round and then beat American Sam Querrey, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta and France's Lucas Pouille, all in straight sets. In the semifinals however, he was defeated by Russia's Daniil Medvedev in 3 sets after Djokovic was up a set. Medvedev went on to win the title.