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Novak Djokovic accomplished some significant feats winning the 2023 Australian Open, and many now classify him as the greatest of all time amongst the 'Big three'.
The claim about who is the greatest of all time amongst the big three in the Open Era will always be an open debate.
Interestingly after Novak Djokovic's victory on Sunday (January 29), winning a career-high tenth Australian Open title against one of the best amongst the new generation of players, he arguably has an edge on this bragging right over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets of 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5), matching Rafael Nadal's record of 22 Grand Slam titles and reclaiming the world No. 1 spot.
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But these were not the only milestones he achieved in Melbourne, as there are six other significant feats attached to his name in his Australian Open glory outlined below.
1 - Equalled Serena Williams with the most Grand Slam finals
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Djokovic qualifying for the 2023 Australian Open final made it the 33rd time he has reached a Grand Slam final - the most by any male player in the Open Era.
Only Chris Evert has more (34), including female players. The Serb equalled Serena Williams with 33 Major finals.
With the pace and ease he played at the Australian, surely the 33-year-old isn't stopping anytime soon and still has more Slam finals to play before retiring.
2 - Moved fourth for most titles in Open Era
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Djokovic equalled Nadal's 92nd career title after winning the Adelaide International at the start of the year.
His 10th Australian Open title means he has moved to fourth on the all-time list ahead of Nadal and just one behind Ivan Lendl (94).
The top two on this list are Jimmy Connors (109) and Federer (103). Only a matter of time before we'll know how many more he will win and end up on the list.
3 - Equalled Nadal as the men's player with the most Grand Slam titles
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Winning the Australian Open meant he equalled Nadal's no of Grand Slam titles (22) as the most by any men's player in the Open Era. The Spaniard was the defending champion but lost in the second round after sustaining an injury.
He also equalled Steffi Graf's record for women, and only Serena Williams has more at 23.
For context amongst the Big 3, Federer had 20 before retiring last year.
4 - Third oldest player to win the Australian Open title
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Winning a Grand Slam title isn't for everyone, but when you win it in old age, it tells a lot about how special the player is and is worthy of all accolades.
Djokovic has not lost at the Australian Open since a fourth-round exit to Hyeon-Chung in 2018, a record 28 matches without defeat, two better than Andre Agassi, spanning four titles.
Winning the title in 2023, he became the third oldest player in the Open Era to secure the Australian Open. Only Ken Rosewall (1972 and 1971) and Federer (2018) were older when they won the title in Melbourne.
5 - Unbeaten in ten finals in a single ATP tournament
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Djokovic is called the master of Melbourne because it's his forte of several wins setting records in the process.
He has the most wins, most semifinal wins, and now is the second male player in the Open Era to stay unbeaten in his first ten finals in a single ATP tournament, having a perfect record in the Australian Open finals to a stunning 10-0.
Only Nadal at the Roland Garros and Barcelona has a longer winning streak.
6 - Second male player in Open Era to win same Grand Slam fifteen years apart
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Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title 15 years ago, and a decade and a half later, he returned to the venue to win a record-extending 10th title.
By doing this, he became only the second male player in the Open Era to win the same Grand Slam fifteen years apart (Australian Open 2008 - 2023).
Nadal is the first to achieve this, seventeen years between Roland Garros in 2005 and 2022.
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