Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates after victory towards Portugal’s Jaime Faria throughout their males’s singles match on day 4 of the Australian Open tennis event in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. | Picture by WILLIAM WEST / AFP
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic added yet one more document to his prolonged record, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for essentially the most Grand Slam matches performed in tennis historical past by reaching 430 on Wednesday on the Australian Open in what was a tougher-than-expected second-round victory.
Djokovic improved to 379-51 for his profession at main tournaments, a .881 profitable share, by defeating 21-year-old Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in a match briefly interrupted by gentle rain earlier than Rod Laver Area’s retractable roof was shut.
READ:
Moalboal concludes 2024 with action-packed tennis tilt
Australian Open: Gael Monfils survives 1st-round match for the ages
“Grand Slams, in fact, they’re the pillars of our sport. They imply all the pieces for the historical past of the game. … Undoubtedly an important tournaments,” Djokovic mentioned. “I’m simply blessed to be making one other document, I assume, right now.”
Oh, sure, Djokovic already holds so many marks, a lot of which used to belong to Federer — who went 369-60 throughout his 429 Slam matches, a .860 profitable share — and there are extra on the horizon.
As it’s, Djokovic has received essentially the most Grand Slam singles titles of any man, 24, forward of Rafael Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20 (these different two members of the Massive Three are actually retired). The 37-year-old Serb has spent extra weeks at No. 1 within the rankings than another participant. He’s performed in 37 Slam finals, six greater than Federer’s previous document. And so forth and so forth.
Think about, too, what may probably await for Djokovic.
A title on the finish of the 15 days at Melbourne Park can be his twenty fifth at a serious, a quantity by no means reached by any man or lady. It could even be his eleventh on the Australian Open, equaling Margaret Court docket for essentially the most. It could make him the oldest man within the Open period — which started in 1968 — to gather a Grand Slam singles trophy (Ken Rosewall was about six months youthful when he received the 1972 Australian Open). And it will be Djokovic’s a centesimal tour-level event title, a pleasant spherical quantity behind solely Jimmy Connors’ 109 and Federer’s 103 within the Open period amongst males.
Not all the pieces has gone completely this week in Australia for Djokovic in his first event working with former on-court rival Andy Murray as his coach.
Each of Djokovic’s matches to this point got here towards a younger participant making his Grand Slam debut. And each instances, he was pushed to 4 units.
Within the first spherical, it was towards Nishesh Basavareddy, a 19-year-old American who turned professional solely final month and is ranked 107th. Within the second, it was Faria, who’s ranked a hundred and twenty fifth, giving him a little bit of a tough time, particularly throughout a four-game run within the second set.
“He was enjoying lights-out tennis. … I needed to climate the storm,” Djokovic mentioned. “I feel I responded very nicely within the third and, significantly fourth, (units).”
Learn Subsequent
Disclaimer: The feedback uploaded on this web site don’t essentially symbolize or mirror the views of administration and proprietor of Cebudailynews. We reserve the appropriate to exclude feedback that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial requirements.
