Over the past year, he has surpassed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in number of TBS titles, appearances in finals, semi-finals, etc.
And Djokovic isn’t done yet. At the 2024 Australian Open, he could break or repeat several more records.
Djokovic could become the only player in the Open era to win at least two consecutive titles at the same tournament four times.
Djokovic has a record of 10 victories at the Australian TBS. The first victory dates back to 2008 and then there was a three-year break. Novak then went on a winning streak from 2011 to 2013. At the 2014 Australian Open, the Serb lost for the first time in four years. He lost to Stan Warvrinke in the quarterfinals, ending his 25-match winning streak in Australia and his streak of 14 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. But Djokovic then went on another winning streak, winning titles in 2015 and 2016.
An elbow injury kept the Serbian from winning over the next two years, but he returned to winning ways in 2018 and has been dominating in Australia since. The Serbian has not lost a match in Melbourne since 2018.
The only tournament he hasn’t won in the last six years is 2022, when he was kicked out for lack of coronavirus vaccination. Last year he came back and won the Australian Open for the 10th time.
And this year, he has the chance to do something special: win at least two titles in a row in Melbourne for the fourth time in his career. In the Open Era, no player did this more than three times in a single Big Game. Even the “king of clay” Rafael Nadal failed to achieve such a result at Roland Garros.
Djokovic could become the only player in the Open era to reach at least 11 semifinals in all four TBS.
The Serbian has reached 12 semi-finals at Roland Garros, 12 at Wimbledon, 13 at the US Open and 10 at the Australian Open with ten victories in the tournament. A total of 47 semi-finals at TBS.
No other player has played in at least 10 semifinal matches in all four TBAs. Roger Federer, who has always been the epitome of versatility, has only 8 appearances in the semi-finals of Roland Garros.
Meanwhile, Djokovic has no weaknesses and has performed well in all Grand Slam tournaments. The Serbian has never lost in a semi-final in Melbourne, giving him a good chance of achieving the aforementioned result.
Novak Djokovic can repeat Roger Federer’s record for most quarterfinal matches at TBS
Since turning professional in 2005, the Serbian has competed in 72 TBS tournaments and is currently hosting the 73rd. He reached the semi-finals 47 times and broke Roger Federer’s record of 46 times.
This year in Australia, Novak can repeat Federer’s record for the number of appearances in the quarterfinals of Grand Slam tournaments (57).
Federer has 57 quarter-finals in 20 years. Djokovic got closer to Roger’s performance in much less time and fewer tournament appearances. While the Swiss needed 81 Grand Slams, his opponent only needed 72 to get close.
What’s even more interesting is that Djokovic has never lost before the quarterfinals at TBS in his last ten tournaments.
Djokovic could overtake Margaret Court to become the sole record holder for most titles in the Open era
Djokovic currently has 24 TBS titles. With his main rival Rafael Nadal injured, the Spaniard is unlikely to catch the Serbian. However, if we count women, Djokovic has a rival in Margaret Court, with whom he currently shares the record.
Margaret Court won 13 of her titles in the early 1960s, when professionals were not allowed to compete in any TBS. Fans also like to claim that the competition at the time was not up to par because the sport was not yet developed in terms of athleticism and striking.
But in any case, Court is a tennis legend and Djokovic can surpass her in Australia and become the greatest in history.
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
