Novak Djokovic is widely considered to be the greatest male player in tennis history.
The Serbian superstar has 24 Grand Slam titles to his name and has broken almost every statistical record previously held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
However, could some of these records be broken in the future by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner?
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The two young stars have been almost unbeatable on the Tour over the past few years, combining to win 10 of the last 11 major titles.
Despite the recent dominance, there is one statistical feat of Djokovic’s that Alcaraz and Sinner are unlikely to surpass during their tennis careers.
Novak Djokovic has reached at least one Grand Slam final in 17 seasons
No man has appeared in at least one Grand Slam final during more ATP campaigns than Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic has made at least one Grand Slam final appearance in 17 seasons on the Tour.
The Serbian star first made a Grand Slam final at the 2007 US Open.
Since then, he has also reached at least one major final in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026.
Djokovic extended his lead over all other players when he reached the Australian Open final earlier this year.
The veteran player defeated Jannik Sinner en route to the final, before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic leads Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in this statistical area. Nadal and Federer both made at least one major final appearance in 15 ATP seasons before their respective retirements.
Most ATP campaigns with at least one Grand Slam final appearance
- Novak Djokovic – 17
- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – 15
- Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl – 11
- Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg – 8
Novak Djokovic’s first Grand Slam final
Djokovic qualified for his first major final upon beating David Ferrer at the 2007 US Open.
The Serb, who beat Ferrer 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, set up a clash with top seed Roger Federer in the final.
Federer emerged triumphant against Djokovic, winning 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was Federer’s fourth consecutive US Open title.
“I think straight sets was a bit brutal for Novak, to be honest,” said Federer after the match. “He deserved better than that. He’s had a fantastic run, not only this tournament but the entire year.
“I told him at the net ‘keep it up.’ We’re going to have many more battles I think.”
“It’s been an amazing two weeks,” Djokovic said. “An amazing experience for me and finally I got to my first Grand Slam final.
“I’d like to congratulate Roger, once again he has shown that he is the best and he deserved to win today. He was the better player.”
Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title a few months later, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 2008 Australian Open final.
