Djokovic breaks a tie with Federer for the most Grand Slam matches in tennis history
MELBOURNE, Jan 15: Novak Djokovic added yet another record to his lengthy list, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam matches played in tennis history by reaching 430 on Wednesday at the Australian Open in what was a tougher-than-expected second-round victory.
Djokovic improved to 379-51 for his career at major tournaments, a .881 winning percentage, by defeating 21-year-old Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in a match briefly interrupted by light rain before Rod Laver Arena’s retractable roof was shut.
As it is, Djokovic has won the most Grand Slam singles titles of any man, 24, ahead of Rafael Nadal’s 22 and Federer’s 20 (those other two members of the Big Three are now retired).
The 37-year-old Serb has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than any other player. He’s played in 37 Slam finals, six more than Federer’s old record. And so on and so on.
Consider, too, what could possibly await for Djokovic.
A title at the end of the 15 days at Melbourne Park would be his 25th at a major, a number never reached by any man or woman.
RUUD KNOCKED OUT
Casper Ruud was sent spinning out of the Australian Open as Czech teenager Jakub Mensik pulled off an impressive 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 upset under the lights at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.
Rangy 19-year-old Mensik, the 2022 boy’s singles finalist at Melbourne Park, sealed the match in style with a searing forehand winner to push the three-times Grand Slam finalist and sixth seed to the exit.
Mensik reached the third round of the tournament for the first time, matching his best Grand Slam result after reaching the third round of the US Open twice. Ruud became the fourth top 10 seed to fall at the tournament following Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov.
GAUFF IN ROUND 3
Coco Gauff stretched her unbeaten start to 2025 to seven matches and 14 sets by moving into the third round at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over 173rd-ranked Jodie Burrage of Britain at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.
NAOMI OSAKA THROUGH
Naomi Osaka’s second-round match at the Australian Open could not possibly have started in a worse way.
All of 21 minutes in, she sailed a forehand service return well long and, just like that, trailed 5-0.
Osaka strode to the sideline for the changeover, plopped herself down and draped a white towel over her head, blocking out all sights and leaving her with just her thoughts. She stayed like that throughout the break between games, even manoeuvering a water bottle under that towel to take a drink.
This was not a match against some unknown opponent, someone Osaka knew for sure she could beat. It was against 20th-seeded Karolina Muchova, the runner-up at the 2023 French Open and a three-time semifinalist at other majors, including at Melbourne Park in 2021.Muchova also had defeated Osaka in their two most recent matchups.
None of that mattered on this afternoon, though: Osaka forgot about that disappointing start and came all the way back to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday. (PTI)