{"id":359732,"date":"2024-01-13T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=359732"},"modified":"2024-01-14T01:01:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T01:01:57","slug":"djokovic-chasing-rare-feat-no-man-has-ever-achieved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=359732","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic chasing rare feat no man has ever achieved"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nick McCarvel, Tennis Australia\ufeff<\/em><\/p>\n

The outsized achievements of Novak Djokovic<\/a> have often left commentators at a loss for words in trying to explain his greatness, especially in recent years.<\/p>\n

"I'm not sure what else to say," has been a familiar uttering. "We've run out of hyperboles," goes another.<\/p>\n

But while words can sometimes feel insufficient, numbers never lie \u2013 and there are plenty (plenty!) of them that the 36-year-old world No.1 is chasing this Australian Open<\/a> fortnight.<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 Australian Open live and exclusive on Nine,<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and ad-free on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The most significant among them is the chase for major title number 25 (he's 24-12 in finals), which would not only be an open era record but also an all-time mark, breaking his tie with Australian Margaret Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/p>\n

Those 36 major final appearances? Already a record. (Chris Evert played 34; Roger Federer<\/a> 31).<\/p>\n

Court won 11 AO crowns, seven of them coming before the grand slams turned professional midway through 1968.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Djoker's stunning Demon prediction<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

ULTIMATE GUIDE:\ufeff<\/strong> Everything to know for Australian Open 2024<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

LIVESTREAM GUIDE:\ufeff<\/strong> How to watch the Australian Open 2024<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As Djokovic looks to take that outright lead in majors won, he also aims to equal Court with an 11th Melbourne triumph of his own, compiling a stunning 89\u20148 win-loss record (91.8 per cent) dating back to 2005.<\/p>\n

What else is Nole chasing at AO 2024? We take a look at Novak by the numbers below.<\/p>\n

Australian Open<\/strong><\/p>\n

An 11th AO would indeed be stunning, but what is perhaps even more impressive is Djokovic's late-career push at the AO: He's won the last four he's competed in (2019-21 and 2023), notching 28 consecutive match wins at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n

More remarkable? Djokovic is 10-0 in finals in Melbourne, collecting the title in 2008, 2011-13, 2015 and 16, 2019-21 and 2023 A win in 2024 would mean a 99th career singles title, putting him just one shy of the century mark, behind only Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103).<\/p>\n

An AO win would also be his 72nd hard court title, which would break his record tie with Federer at 71.<\/p>\n

Novak at night on RLA? That's the most lethal version of the Serbian at the AO: He's won 23 consecutive evening matches dating back to 2014.<\/p>\n

Should Novak make the final he'll bypass the Open Era record for consecutive matches won at the AO: 33 straight by Monica Seles, from 1991 to 1999.<\/p>\n

A run to the fourth round at the Australian Open would mean Djokovic bypasses Australian Roy Emerson's men's record mark of 30 consecutive match wins (1963-68). With Novak at 28, three wins would put him at 31.<\/p>\n

Seven match wins this year would bring him to 96 total in Melbourne, just shy of Federer's 102. Only Federer has played more AO matches (117) to Djokovic's 97.<\/p>\n

His aforementioned 91.8 win percentage at the AO is an all-time record at the tournament<\/p>\n

Grand Slams<\/strong><\/p>\n

He already has the record at 47 major semifinals, but a run to the quarters would tie Novak with Federer for the most Grand Slam elite eight appearances at 58.<\/p>\n

A run to the final, meanwhile, would mark a fifth consecutive major final appearance (dating back to last year's Australian Open), a second such streak in his career (Australian Open 2015 to Roland-Garros 2016).<\/p>\n

A championship run would give him 368 major match wins in his career (should he receive no walk overs), putting him just one shy of Federer's record at 369.<\/p>\n

Just by walking on court at AO 2024 he'll participate in a 73rd major, behind only Federer and Feliciano Lopez at 81 (Richard Gasquet, due to play in the main draw, will also be at 73).<\/p>\n

The No.1 ranking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of his AO finish, he will begin the tournament as world No.1 for the 407th week, marking 13 different years he's held the top ranking \u2013 and having finished 2023 as year-end No.1 for an eighth time.<\/p>\n

Already the record-holder for the most weeks at world No.1 at 406, Djokovic's performance \u2013 along with those of a few others \u2013 will determine if he can earn a coveted 408th week come the AO's completion (Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev have the chance to take the top spot, results for all three pending).<\/p>\n

Breaking new ground<\/strong><\/p>\n

Something Djokovic has never done at the AO \u2013 or any major? Go undefeated in sets won across the seven rounds.<\/p>\n

All those numbers are worth something monetarily, too: Djokovic has earned more on court than any other player: A record $180,937,203 in prize money.<\/p>\n

The most alarming number is one that the AO is just a part of: the Golden Slam.<\/p>\n

Djokovic has stated his intention to win all four majors this season (not done on the men's side since Rod Laver in 1969), as well as Olympic gold, something no man has done before \u2013 and not accomplished in the sport since Steffi Graf in 1988.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nick McCarvel, Tennis Australia\ufeff The outsized achievements of Novak Djokovic have often left commentators at a loss for words in trying to explain his […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":359734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=359732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359735,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359732\/revisions\/359735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/359734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=359732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=359732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=359732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}