Is Djokovic The Best Ever At The Australian Open?

Tennis fans have been blessed with a generation of magical talent from the mid-2000s until today.

If Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, or Roger Federer had existed independently in the last 15 years without staunch competition from the other two, they would have dominated the sport for the best part of 20 years. However, we were treated to some of the finest match-ups ever seen in tennis history. While the debate will rage on long after they have retired, you could make a strong case for any of these players being the best. 

With 66 combined Grand Slams, there’s no denying that we have just lived through a complete golden age of tennis. For those who wish to play devil’s advocate and try and definitively say who is the best of the three, you’d start by establishing their rankings on different surfaces. Rather fittingly, Nadal dominates clay, hence his “King Of Clay” moniker. For many, Federer is widely considered the most outstanding player on grass, and Novak is the best ever at the Australian Open. 

Novak, Nadal & Federer – The Record Breakers

Serbia’s greatest-ever athlete has a record 10 Australian Open wins, which sets him apart from even his greatest rivals, Nadal and Federer, who are amongst the greatest-ever players to take to the court at Melbourne Park. The best Australian Open tennis players who changed the sport have a natural, intricate knowledge of how the hard court works, usually through years of practicing in their formative years. You can look at the list of the greatest players who have lifted the Grand Slam down under, whether it is Pete Sampras, Djokovic, Federer, or Andre Agassi. Still, it is the current world number one, head and shoulders above any of his adversaries throughout history. 

We don’t mean to say this to sound rude or detract from the achievements of any of these legendary names, but it is a testament to just how remarkable the last decade and a half has been. For Novak’s achievements down under, Nadal has even more French Open titles, and Roger has eclipsed them both at Wimbledon, so it’s a three-way shootout, with all of them smashing through records that have existed for decades.

The GOAT Down Under?

If a player wins 10 Grand Slams throughout their career, this is a guaranteed Hall of Fame stat. To put it into perspective, John McEnroe has seven Grand Slams in total and is considered a legend of the game, and rightly so. The American was famed for his on-court rants. Although he never won the Australian Open, his praise for Djokovic and his performances down under have been a testament to just how revered the Serbian truly is. 

So while McEnroe has a career 7 Grand Slams, Djokovic has 10 Australian Opens on their own; it is a truly astonishing feat to get into double figures combined, never mind at one event. Nadal has gone even higher at Roland Garros, with 14 trophies to his name, and if he hadn’t had to sit this year’s French Grand Slam out with a hip injury, it might have very likely become 15.

Conclusion

Although the conversation about who is the most outstanding player out of the three has many more nuances to it, Rafa on clay, Roger on grass, and Novak on hard court seems to be the most universal opinion. Given that Novak is the only player in the history of the Australian Open to get into double figures and could easily add another one or two to his collection before he retires, we’d say Novak being the greatest-ever player at the Australian Open is beyond any reasonable doubt. 

Fans, players, and pundits seem to agree mostly, and more importantly, the statistics back it up. It would be magnificent and symptomatic of one of the all-time greats if he did have another few Grand Slams up his belt. Although he has ferocious young Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz breathing down his neck, who is likely to pick up the mantle once Novak finally calls it a day, there’s still plenty of fight left in Djokovic, which he has exhibited against the young superstar who lies in wait.

Sadly, it’s improbable we will see a trio of such quality operating at the top of tennis for an extremely long time. Some tennis analysts believe we may never see anything like it again, and few sports can boast a time when the three greatest players of all time were all operating simultaneously, at the height of their powers, while facing off against each other regularly. 

Again, it’s improbable we will see a player come along who will beat Novak’s Australian Grand Slam record, but then again, records are made to be broken. One thing we love so much about tennis is the unpredictable nature of it, so the idea that it might never happen again will just fuel the inspirations of tomorrow’s superstars.