Seventh-ranked ATP player and 24-time Grand Slam champion, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, has set a record for the most matches played in the main draw of a major tournament.
On January 15, during the second round of the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne, the 37-year-old "Nole" defeated the 125th-ranked Portuguese player Jaime Faria with a score of 6:1, 6:7 (4:7), 6:3, 6:2. Djokovic’s next opponent will be Czech player Tomáš Macháč, who is ranked 25th.
The Serbian athlete has now played his 430th match in Grand Slam competitions, surpassing 20-time major champion Roger Federer from Switzerland, who has 429. Rounding out the top three for this statistic is 23-time Grand Slam winner, American Serena Williams, with 423 matches.
In an interview with Daily Mail on January 6, Djokovic admitted that he still feels some psychological effects from his deportation from Australia in 2022. At that time, he was not allowed to participate in the Australian Open due to the lack of a COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
