Source: Atpworldtour
Read & Watch: Djokovic Hits 900 Win Milestone
Novak Djokovic has created yet another milestone moment in his legendary career during the Australian Open. The Serbian, who turned pro in 2003, defeated German Jan-Lennard Struff on Monday night for his 900th singles match win.
"Milestones are definitely a motivation. They make me proud of what I have achieved in my career. They give even more significance to why I'm competing in professional tennis still," Djokovic said on Sunday. "But at the same time, there are some other higher goals that I have as a driving force."
By picking up his 69th victory in 77 matches at the first Grand Slam of the year, Djokovic joined Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl, Rafael Nadal and Guillermo Vilas as the only players to reach 900 wins.
OPEN ERA MATCH WINS LEADERS (SINCE APRIL 1968)
Player
Career Match Wins (Winning %)
1) Jimmy Connors (USA)
1,274-283 (.818)
2) Roger Federer (SUI)
1,237-270 (.821)
3) Ivan Lendl (CZE/USA)
1,068-242 (.815)
4) Rafael Nadal (ESP)
981-199 (.831)
5) Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
949-291 (.766)
6) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
900-187 (.828)
MATCH WINS RECORD ON 900TH VICTORY
Player
Career Match Wins (Winning %)
Jimmy Connors (USA)
900-144 (.862)
Ivan Lendl (CZE/USA)
900-156 (.852)
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
900-187 (.829)
Rafael Nadal (ESP)
900-187 (.829)
Roger Federer (SUI)
900-204 (.815)
Guillermo Vilas (ARG)
900-243 (.787)
Djokovic’s rapid trajectory in his early years on Tour indicated that he was on track for a storied career. He picked up his first tour-level win as a precocious 17-year-old in 2004 and quickly added more notable victories. By age 19, he had lifted four tour-level crowns that included his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami. A maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne and Nitto ATP Finals trophy in Shanghai soon followed in 2008, cementing his status as a sports icon in Serbia.
DJOKOVIC’S FIRST-TIME MOMENTS
Moment
Opponent
Event
First tour-level win
Janis Skroderis
2004 Davis Cup v. Latvia
First ATP Tour win
Arnaud Clement
2004 Bucharest
First Top 10 win
Mariano Puerta
2005 Paris
First ATP Tour title
Nicolas Massu
2006 Amersfoot
First ATP Masters 1000 title
Rafael Nadal
2007 Miami
First Grand Slam title
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2008 Australian Open
First Nitto ATP Finals title
Nikolay Davydenko
2008 Shanghai
His prolific match-wins tally comes from years of unwavering consistency. Djokovic picked up at least 60 tour-level victories for 10 consecutive years (2007-2016). The height of his dominance came in 2015, when he produced a staggering 82-6 record and reached the final in 15 consecutive tournaments. For context, Daniil Medvedev led the Tour in match wins last year with 59.
Although 64 per cent of his career wins (580) have come on hard courts, Djokovic has excelled on every surface. He’s reached at least one final on three different surfaces during nine seasons (2008-09, 2011, 2013-15, 2017-19) and is one of eight men to complete the Career Grand Slam, making him a global sports icon.
DJOKOVIC'S CAREER MATCH RECORD BY SURFACE
Surface
Career Match Wins (Winning %)
Hard
581-110 (.841)
Clay
214-55 (.796)
Grass
95-18 (.841)
Carpet
10-4 (.714)
His continued success has defied the critics who wrote him off just two years ago. Djokovic struggled with an elbow injury that forced him to miss the second half of 2017 and required surgery in February 2018. He failed to reach a final in his first eight tournaments of 2018, marking his longest streak without a trophy in 12 years.
But the Serbian continued to put his head down and was rewarded with a remarkable turnaround In the second half of that year. He went on a 39-5 run that included two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon, US Open) and a pair of Masters 1000 crowns (Cincinnati, Shanghai). Djokovic also reached 800 match wins that June at Queen’s Club.
DJOKOVIC'S MILESTONE MATCH WINS
Number
Opponent
Event
1
Janis Skroderis
2004 Davis Cup v. Latvia
100
Pablo Andujar
2007 Umag - 1R
200
Martin Vassallo Arguello
2009 Indian Wells - 2R
300
Viktor Troicki
2010 Cincinnati - 2R
400
Andy Murray
2012 Australian Open - SF
500
Grigor Dimitrov
2013 Roland Garros - 3R
600
Milos Raonic
2014 Paris - Final
700
Malek Jaziri
2016 Dubai - 2R
800
Adrian Mannarino
2018 Queen’s Club - QF
900
Jan-Lennard Struff
2020 Australian Open - 1R
He arrives this year in Melbourne looking to add to his jaw-dropping collection of hardware. He's tied with John McEnroe in fifth place for most titles in the Open Era (77), including 34 Masters 1000 trophies and 16 Grand Slam crowns. He's picked up at least one Grand Slam or Masters 1000 title in 10 of the past 13 seasons (2007-08, 2011-16, 2018-19).
At age 32, Djokovic still has several more years to add to his match wins tally. He will almost surely move into fifth place in the Open Era match wins leaders and continue his countdown towards 1,000 match wins. If he can stay healthy and continue producing the elite level that fans have grown accustomed to for nearly 15 years, he’ll give himself a chance to end his career at the top of the list.
Special statistical assistance courtesy of Greg Sharkoreadfullarticle