Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has moved past Swiss legend Roger Federer to claim the all-time record for most major singles matches played among men and women by contesting in his 430th Grand Slam singles match. The 10-time Australian Open winner battled past 21-year-old qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 on January 15 moving past Federer’s tally of 429.
The Serb is through to the third round of the season first major for the 17th time in 20 appearances to continue his quest for a 25th major singles title and 100th tour-level crown.
“I think I responded very well in the third and particularly fourth set, the way I ended the match. He was playing lights-out tennis towards the end of the second set and beginning of the third. I had to weather the storm. He’s been practically serving two first serves the entire match.
“It’s not easy to play someone like that who doesn’t have obviously anything to lose coming out. He’s a big guy, very young, so I told him at the net, the future is bright for him, he should keep going,” Djokovic was quoted saying by ATP website.
Next up for Djokovic will be a third-round meeting with 26th-seeded Czech Tomas Machac, a 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 winner against Reilly Opelka earlier on Wednesday. The pair split two previous Lexus ATP Head-to-Head meetings in 2023 and 2024, with Machac winning their most recent showdown in last year’s Geneva semi-finals.
Djokovic is bidding to become the oldest player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title, a record that currently belongs to Ken Rosewall, who won the 1972 Australian Open at the age of 37 years and 62 days. At the end of this Melbourne fortnight, Djokovic will be 37 years and 249 days old.
