Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals. Djokovic would have risen to world no. 2 had he won the match.
As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former world no. 1 Andy Roddick while he was trailing in the fourth set 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 1–2, due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. His retirement drew criticism from several players remaining in the tournament, including Roger Federer.
After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals 3–6, 2–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 before losing to Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic during the 2009 US Open
Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final after defeating Federer. This loss caused Djokovic's ranking to drop to world no. 4 on 11 May, ending 91 consecutive weeks at the number 3 ranking.
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
novak djokovic
