A Serbian tennis player now boasts of yet another record to his lengthy list, positioning himself as one of the greatest tennis players in history.
37-year-old Novak Djokovic surpassed a record tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam major singles played by reaching 430 on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at the Australian Open and qualified for the third round.
The win gives Djokovic sole ownership of the all-time record for the most Grand Slam singles matches played among men and women and takes him past former tennis rival Federer, who played his last major match at Wimbledon in 2021.
The victory also meant that the 37-year-old Serb becomes the first man over the age of 30 to reach 150 Grand Slam singles wins. However, his victory came with hard work by beating the debutant Jaima Faria with 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, and 6-2 to emerge a winner and qualify for the third round.
Djokovic expressed his love for tennis and was very optimistic about making another record.
He promised to keep tennis very competitive as long as he was still active on the court.
“I try to give my best every single time; whether I win or lose, I will always leave my heart out on the court. It’s been over 20 years that I have been competing in Grand Slams at the highest level because of the love for the sport,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic can still make further history in the Australian Open if he wins the title, having 25 major Grand Slams, thereby breaking his tie with Australia’s Margaret Court as the sole leader of all-time Grand Slam singles titles.
Working with his former on-court rival Andy Murray as his coach, he will face Czech’s Tomas Machac in the third round.
Both of Djokovic’s matches so far in the Australian Open came against a young player making his Grand Slam debut, and all have given him a hard time to overcome; all had to be pushed to four sets, something that has raised questions on whether he will win the tournament.
In the first round, it was against Nishesh Basavareddy, a 19-year-old American who turned pro only last year in December and is ranked 107th. In the second, it was Faria, who is ranked 125th, giving him a bit of a hard time, especially during a four-game run in the second set.
