To novak djokovicthere is no competition like it Australian Open. The Serbian tennis player made it there nine titles of the 21 he won at Grand Slam level and is the most successful male tennis player in the history of the tournament.

Djokovic was unable to participate in the 2022 edition due to the inconvenience caused by his unvaccinated status against COVID-19, but the restrictions are now a thing of the past and this year the Serb will play again in Melbourne in search of a tenth Australian Open.

From the debut in 2005 to the first big show

Djokovic’s Australian Open debut came in 2005: aged 17, he lost to eventual champion Marat Safin 6-0, 6-2, 6-1. The following year he didn’t even qualify for the round: he fell in the opening round against Paul Goldstein. In 2007, success began to come: Djokovic won nine of the first 10 sets he played until falling to Roger Federer in straight sets in the round of 16.

In 2008, a Nole who had been on the rise the previous year won his first Grand Slam crown in Australia: he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the tournament decider.

The first title… And those that followed

Tsonga got revenge on Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the 2010 edition, while Andy Roddick knocked him out on that occasion in 2009, but in 2011 the Serb would begin one of his best runs in Melbourne: that year he was champion by beating Andy Murray in the final. In 2012 and 2013, Djokovic returned to the top, again beating Rafael Nadal and Murray in the finals respectively.

Stan Wawrinka, a tight 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7, ended Djokovic’s 24-match Australian Open winning streak, but the man from Belgrade would make a big comeback in 2015 and 2016, with wins over Andy Murray in the finals of those editions.

Two incredible losses

In 2017, Djokovic suffered his most shocking defeat in Australia, losing to wildcard Denis Istomin in five sets in the second round, leading two sets to one, while in 2018 he suffered another blow: falling in the fourth round against the young Korean Chung Hyeon in straight sets.

A streak that continues to this day

In those two back-to-back editions, Djokovic has responded with a current streak of 21 straight wins at the Australian Open: in 2019 he beat Rafa Nadal in straight sets, in 2020 he beat Dominic Thiem and in 2021 he beat Daniil Medvedev. Only two players managed to win at least two sets against him during that streak: Thiem in 2020 and Taylor Fritz in the third round in 2021.

Novak Djokovic Australian Open Stats

• Participations: 17 (not including 2023).
• Record: 82-8.
• Titles: 9.
• Nearest precedent: in 2021 he was crowned champion by beating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in three sets.