Novak Djokovic reaches record eighth Australian Open men’s singles final

Novak Djokovic, the second ranked player in the world, has made Australian Open history. In beating Roger Federer of Switzerland, the third ranked player in the world, Djokovic set the Australian Open record for most appearances in a men’s singles final with eight.

In the first of two men’s semifinals at the 2020 Australian Open, Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. Djokovic and Federer shared the record for the most Australian Open men’s singles finals with seven prior to Djokovic’s semifinal win on Thursday.

Remarkably, Djokovic has a perfect record of seven wins and zero losses in the Australian Open men’s singles final. He has previously beaten Andy Murray of Great Britain four times, Rafael Nadal of Spain twice and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France once.

Djokovic beat Nadal in the 2019 Australian Open men’s singles final by a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal, the first seed, was eliminated from the men’s quarterfinals in 2020 on Wednesday when he was beaten by Dominic Thiem of Austria, the fifth seed, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. Interestingly, Djokovic can pass Nadal and move back to number one in the world with a win in the men’s singles championship in the Australian Open on Sunday.

Thiem is set to play Alexander Zverev of Germany in the second of two men’s singles semifinals on Friday. Head-to-head, Thiem currently has a 6-2 lead on Zverev, the seventh ranked player in the world. Of their eight meetings, Thiem has beaten Zverev, but his two wins came on clay and not hard court. Thiem beat Zverev 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the third round of the 2016 French Open and then 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 French Open.

This is the furthest Zverev has ever reached in a grand slam final. Thiem has reached the French Open men’s final twice in 2018 and 2019, but lost each time to Nadal.