Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/441551
6 ITFWORLD WINTER 2014 I n 2014, NovAk DjokovIC again stayed ahead of the pack snapping at his heels to be named ITF World Champion for the fourth consecutive year. In the dog fight at the pinnacle of the men's game the 27-year-old battled back to the top of the rankings, winning his seventh Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and collecting six more titles. With four different men winning the Grand Slam singles events, Djokovic was one of only two players alongside Rafael Nadal to reach two major finals. The Serb rolled into 2014 on a 24-match winning streak and with a new coach in the form of German legend Boris Becker. But he was upset in the Australian Open quarterfinals by eventual champion Stan Wawrinka, that five-set loss ending his 25-match winning streak at Melbourne Park and his run of 14 successive appearances in Grand Slam semifinals. Djokovic won back-to-back Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami, beating Roger Federer and Nadal respectively, and maintained his form on clay, winning his third Masters 1000 of the year in Rome with victory over Nadal. Djokovic looked ready to take on the mighty Spaniard at Roland Garros and claim the Grand Slam title missing from his collection, but when the pair duly met in the Paris final three weeks later, Djokovic couldn't follow through and Nadal won 36 75 62 64 for his ninth Roland Garros trophy. The match marked Djokovic's third straight loss in a Grand Slam final. Salvation came at Wimbledon, where Djokovic fought through tight matches against Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals and semis, and then defeated Federer 67 64 76 57 64 in a high- quality final to win Wimbledon for the second time. As a result Djokovic took the No. 1 ranking from Nadal, and he celebrated by getting married to Jelena Ristic four days later. Djokovic didn't shine on North American hard courts following his honeymoon, and lost in the US Open semifinals to Kei Nishikori. He got into his stride again though in the autumn, managing to juggle further title-winning efforts in Beijing and Paris with the birth of his son Stefan in October. Despite this, his No. 1 ranking was still threatened by Federer until the completion of the round robin at the ATP World Tour Finals, when the year-end top spot was confirmed as Djokovic's for the third time. The Serb went on to capture the season-ending title, winning the final by walkover against an injured Federer. Djokovic is the third man to be named ITF World Champion in four or more successive years. He is one of only four men to be World Champion four or more times in total, alongside Sampras (six), Federer (five) and Lendl (four). ITFWorld introduces the 2014 ITF World Champions, among whom there are repeat winners in five categories, and takes a look at their outstanding years. ITF WORLD CHAMPIONS THE BEST OF 2014 M E N ' S S I N G L E S W O R L D C H A M P I O N