20 incredible things Novak Djokovic achieved with his run to the Australian Open final

Novak Djokovic may not have come away with the 25th Grand Slam title of his career at the Australian Open this year, falling to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in the final, but he broke all kinds of records—and ended all kinds of streaks—along the way.

Here are just 20 things the G.O.A.T. achieved in Melbourne:

Let’s start at the beginning with his 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Pedro Martinez in the first round, which made him just the second player ever, male or female, to record 100 career wins at the Australian Open, after Roger Federer, who finished his career with 102 wins in Melbourne. Serena Williams is next with 92.

And having already won 101 at Roland Garros and 102 at Wimbledon, he became the first player ever, male or female, to have 100 or more career wins at three different Grand Slams. And he could very well complete his set later this year at the US Open, the only one he's missing, where he has 95 career wins.

It was also his record-extending 76th first-round win in a row at Grand Slams, the longest streak for any player in the Open Era, male or female. It’s now been 20 years since his last opening exit, to American Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open.

Then, with an identical 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Francesco Maestrelli in the second round, he’s now won 64 matches in a row in the first two rounds of Grand Slams. It’s now been nine years since he lost before the third round of a major, falling to wild card Denis Istomin in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open.

He also improved to 32-0 against qualifiers at majors. Maestrelli had qualified to reach his first major main draw, then beat last year’s Cincinnati semifinalist, Terence Atmane, in the first round.

With his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round, Djokovic became the first player in tennis history, male or female, to record 400 career wins at Grand Slams. He already held that record by a long way, with Federer and Serena in second and third place with 369 and 367.

That third-round win also put him through to his 70th career round-of-16 appearance at a Grand Slam, breaking the record for most for a man in the Open Era, surpassing Federer’s 69.

And that’s not all—with that victory he also improved his already-flawless record in third-round matches at the Australian Open to 18-0. He’s 52-5 in sets in those matches.

There was a reprieve in the fourth round, as his scheduled opponent, Czech Jakub Mensik, was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an abdominal injury. With that, Djokovic moved into the 16th Australian Open quarterfinal of his career, a new all-time men’s record, surpassing Federer’s 15.

He also moved into the 65th Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, extending the all-time men’s record he’s already had for almost two years now. Federer has the next-most with 58.

After advancing past Lorenzo Musetti via retirement in the quarterfinals, Djokovic truly shone in the semifinals against Jannik Sinner, taking him out in five grueling sets, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, and in doing so he ended the two-time defending champion’s 19-match winning streak at the Australian Open.

And that wasn’t the only Sinner winning streak Djokovic snapped—the world No. 2 had won his last five matches in a row against Djokovic, 20 matches in a row on the tour, 29 matches in a row against Top 10 players other than Alcaraz, and 37 matches in a row at Grand Slams against players other than Alcaraz.

Djokovic ensured that he, at least for now, would remain the only man in the Open Era to win the Australian Open three years in a row. Sinner was going for his third in a row this year. Djokovic is the only man to three-peat in Melbourne in the Open Era, doing it twice, from 2011 to 2013 and from 2019 to 2021.

He also ensured there would be no fourth Grand Slam final in a row between Alcaraz and Sinner, which means that again, at least for now, Djokovic and Nadal keep their record for most major finals played in a row by two men in the Open Era, with four in a row between 2011 Wimbledon and 2012 Roland Garros.

His victory over Sinner was his 20th career win over a Top 5 player at the Australian Open, tying Nadal (at Roland Garros) for most career Top 5 wins for a man at a single Grand Slam event in ATP rankings history, which dates back to 1973.

And to circle back to an earlier stat, his win over Sinner was also his 104th win at the Australian Open, now two clear of Federer for most career wins for any player in Australian Open history.

Djokovic’s heroic semifinal victory over Sinner put him through to his 11th career Australian Open final, extending his all-time men’s record, as well as his 38th career Grand Slam final, extending his all-time record for any player, male or female.

At 38 years young, he also became the oldest men’s player to reach the Australian Open final in the Open Era, and the oldest men’s player to reach the final at any Grand Slam since 1974, when Ken Rosewall reached his last two career Grand Slam finals as a 39-year-old at Wimbledon and the US Open.

This is the record-extending 17th different season in his career where he’s reached at least one major final, doing it in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and now 2016. It’s the most for a man in the Open Era, with Federer and Nadal tied for second place at 15.

He’s now reached 38 finals in the 81 majors he’s played in his career, which is already ridiculous, but he’s also reached 38 finals in the last 70 majors he’s played, an unbelievable stretch that dates back to his first major final at the 2007 US Open.

And finally, after all of that, he’s now back in the Top 3. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who’s spent a record 428 career weeks at No. 1, had been bouncing around the No. 4-7 range for the last 16 months, but with this result he moves back to No. 3, his first time in the Top 3 since the two weeks of the 2024 US Open.

This is his mindblowing 757th career week in the Top 3 of the ATP rankings, which is more than 14 years’ worth of weeks!