Novak Djokovic – A decade of success at the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic with his 10th Australian Open title (Image: Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open (AO) 2023. He beat the world No.3, Stephanos Tsitsipas in straight sets – 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5). This is Djokovic’s 10th Australian grand slam and is now tied with Rafael Nadal for the most major titles in men’s tennis history with 22.

Every time Djokovic has reached the semi-finals, he was gone on to win the tournament. His first AO title came in 2008 when he was 20. At the time, Djokovic was the world No.3 and was the finalist at the US Open 2007. In the semi-finals he beat former tennis player and legend, Roger Federer. In the final Djokovic played the French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It was a landmark moment for the Serbian because it was his first major trophy. The final score was 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) with Djokovic having a near flawless tournament only dropping one set.

In the 2009 and 2010 AO, Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals. In 2011, Djokovic’s wait for another AO and his second major title ended as he defeated British player Andy Murray in the final. He won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. It was a magnificent performance from Djokovic. All his serving stats were above 65%. He created an impressive 18 break point opportunities, and he held Murray to only 31% second serve points won. The match lasted just under three hours.

The Australian Open 2012 final was the most gruelling grand slam final the tennis world had ever seen. It was defending champion Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal. Coming into the match, Djokovic had the edge over Nadal as had beaten the Spaniard in their last six finals in the previous year.

The two titans would battle for five hours and 53 minutes. It was the longest major final match in history surpassing the previous record set by the US Open final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl in 1988.

The match was considered as one of the greatest ever played. Both players operating at their highest level and with neither player showing any signs of giving up, the final turned into a war of attrition and sheer will.

After nearly six hours of incredible tennis, the endurance contest ended at 1:37am on Monday morning in Melbourne, Australia. The final ended 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5. There were tears, sweat and even blood. During trophy presentation, both players were struggling to stand as they were brought chairs and water.

The contest was full of long rallies and remarkable gets. At the end, Djokovic finished with 57 winners and 69 unforced errors while Nadal finished with 44 winners and 71 unforced errors.

Djokovic became the fifth man to win three successive grand slams following his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open with him hailing this win as the most special of his slam victories.

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal after the 2012 Australian Open final (Image: Getty Images)

A year on from his jaw-dropping encounter with Nadal, Djokovic faced Murray once again in the final. Murray was playing arguably some of his greatest tennis in the tournament as he defeated Federer in the previous round.

Djokovic v Murray was the final that many fans wanted, and the two stars did not disappoint. Unlike their previous AO final, Murray started the match better and he eventually took the first set in a tie break.

Like the first set, the second was close and went to another tie break, however, it was Djokovic who won 7-3. From then on, the Serbian began dismantling Murray as he broke the Brit’s serve multiple times and dominated the rest of the match, it ended 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-2.

It was Djokovic’s fourth AO title and sixth grand slam overall. He became the first man in the Open Era to win the tournament three times in a row.

In 2014, Djokovic’s dominance in Melbourne was stopped by the eventual champion, Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka. Losing this match also ended Djokovic’s 25 game win streak at the tournament.

The AO final in 2015 would host a third meeting between Djokovic and Murray. It was the same ending for Murray as he would finish as the runner-up for the fourth time at the event, this was the most in the Open Era. While the final score was 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0, the match was far from straightforward for Djokovic. At the start of both sets two and three, the world No.1 looked completely spent physically as he struggled to chase down balls. It was a golden opportunity for the Scot as on both occasions, he went a break up.

But Djokovic wasn’t to be denied as he made a miraculous recovery to take both sets and he even delivered a ‘bagel’ in the final set.

2015 was an impressive year as he won three out of four grand slams, this was the second time Djokovic had achieved this feat. He would repeat this again in 2021. However, no player has been able to win all four slams since Rod Laver in 1962.

If losing to Djokovic three times was bad how could a fourth loss be described? That is a question that only Murray can answer as the 2016 final was a repeat of 2015. The match itself left tennis fans dissatisfied as the quality of tennis from both players was very poor in stretches during the two hour and 53 minute affair. Despite the disappointing performances from both players, Djokovic won the match 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).

2017 was an injury riddled year as the Serbian had been suffering from a persistent injury on his right elbow. He lost in the second round at the tournament and sat out the last four months of the ATP season. In 2018, he was knocked out in the fourth round by Chung Hyeon. Djokovic was still dealing with physical problems and admitted that his elbow was not 100 per cent prior to the tournament starting.

Djokovic would return to the top in 2019 as he defeated his great rival Nadal. It was a comprehensive win for Djokovic and perhaps his best performance in the final as he won 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The match lasted just over two hours and Nadal had no answers for Djokovic.

On his route to the final, Nadal hadn’t dropped a set but, he came into the tournament without any competitive matches since September’s US Open and was nowhere near the level that was required of him to compete with Djokovic. The win in 2019 also meant that Djokovic became the player with the most Australian Open championships in men’s tennis.

Djokovic would complete another hat-trick of Australian Opens as he won in 2020 and 2021. Both finals were played against two of the ‘next gen’ players, Dominic Thiem from Austria and Daniil Medvedev from Russia respectively.

He beat Thiem in what was a very tricky five set match. It took Djokovic almost four hours to win 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in defence of his most successful major title. It was a heart-breaking loss for Thiem as he had been a set away from his first slam. He looked like the one who could potentially break the hold that the big three – Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – had on tennis for nearly two decades as he had also been to two French Open finals, losing to Nadal on both occasions.

Djokovic after his gruelling match against Dominic Thiem in 2020 (Image: Getty Images)

Against the Russian Medvedev, Djokovic won in very convincing fashion. A very cagey first set ended 7-5 but the following two sets were won brilliantly. Djokovic managed to overcome Medvedev’s wonderful serve with phenomenal returns and eventually walked away with his ninth major in Australia winning the final two sets 6-2, 6-2.

Facing Djokovic in Melbourne is without a doubt one of tennis’ toughest challenges. He boasts an outstanding record of 89 wins and nine defeats. With ten titles out of 18, he has a success rate of 56%. Now at 35 years old and still competing at the highest level, Djokovic could end up with a few more by the time he retires.