No player in the history of tennis has won more Grand Slam titles than Novak Djokovic. The 38-year-old sets standards with 24 successes-and he also shows at this year’s US Open that his hunger is far from breastfeeding. Due to the victory over the American Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals, the Serb moved into a semi-finals in Flushing Meadows for the 14th time. For Djokovic it was also the eleventh win in the eleventh duel with Fritz.
In the footsteps of big names
Nole holds numerous records: he triumphed ten times at the Australian Open, so he is the sole leader. Rafael Nadal collected 14 titles in Paris, Roger Federer Eight in Wimbledon. The US Open, on the other hand, shows a wider picture. Since the beginning of the Open ERA in 1968, only three players have won five titles: Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Federer.
Connors dominated in the 1970s and won five times between 1974 and 1983. Sampras shaped the 1990s and won his first in 1990, his fifth title in 2002. Federer, on the other hand, set a unique sign by winning five times in series from 2004 to 2008. No player has been able to successfully defend the title since then.
Nole has long been involved in this tradition. He was able to win four times in New York: 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2023. He is on par with Rafael Nadal and John Mcenroe. The consistency is also impressive: he was already in the final ten times, more often than any other player in the Open Era.
Missed opportunities and new goals
However, the balance sheet also shows setbacks. Nole had to accept a defeat six times in the final – including Federer 2007, Nadal 2010 and 2013, Murray 2012, Wawrinka 2016 and Medvedev 2021. So he was close to the fifth triumph several times.
Now he could set another milestone in New York. With a win in the semi -finals against Carlos Alcaraz, he was again in the final. There he would have the chance to catch up with Connors, Sampras and Federer in the number of US open titles. In addition, he could further expand his own record with a possible 25th Grand Slam title.
Another goal is the age brand: At 38, Nole could be the oldest Grand Slam winner of the Open ERA. For him, it would be further proof of his perseverance and ambition.
How often in his career is he about to write history. Should he win the fifth title in New York, he would finally pull in the balance sheet of the US Open with the very big ones.
