Stats and sub-plots: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Stefanos Tsitsipas all chasing history…

The Australian Open moves into the second round on Wednesday, and we preview three matches that feature history-chasing ATP stars Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Novak Djokovic v Tatsuma Ito

• Seven-time Australian Open champion Djokovic is bidding to reach the 3rd round here for the 13th year. This is his 16th appearance at the Australian Open and his 60th Grand Slam overall.
• Djokovic has lost in the 2nd round in Melbourne on one occasion – in 2017, when he fell to wild card Denis Istomin in 5 sets. It was his earliest Australian Open exit since he fell to Paul Goldstein in the 1st round in 2006. It was also the only occasions he has lost to a wild card at the Grand Slams.
• Djokovic is bidding to become the 3rd man in history to win at least 8 titles at any Grand Slam event – after Rafael Nadal, who has won 12 titles at Roland Garros, and Roger Federer, who has won 8 titles at Wimbledon.
• At 32 years 256 days, Djokovic is bidding to win his 5th Grand Slam title since turning 30 and equal Nadal’s Open Era record for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles won after the age of 30. Since celebrating his 30th birthday on 22 May 2017, Djokovic has won 4 major titles – at Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, the 2018 US Open and Australia last year. (NB ages calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Djokovic is bidding to win his 78th Tour-level title here and claim sole ownership of 4th place on the Open Era list for most Tour-level titles won, ahead of John McEnroe. Only Jimmy Connors (109 Tour-level titles), Federer (103), Lendl (95) and Nadal (84) have won more Tour-level titles in the Open Era than Djokovic
• By reaching the 2nd round, Ito has equalled his best Grand Slam result. He has reached 2nd round at a major on 3 previous occasions, including twice at the Australian Open – on his AO debut as a wild card in 2012.
• Ito is bidding to defeat a Top 5 opponent for the 2nd time on his 4th attempt. He has a 1-2 win-loss record against Top 5 opposition, with his only victory coming against No. 4 Stan Wawrinka in the 1st round at 2014 Tokyo. The highest-ranked player he has defeated at a Grand Slam is No. 51 Johnson in the 1st round at the 2014 US Open.

Roger Federer v Filip Krajinovic

• Roger Federer has not lost as early as the 2nd round at a Grand Slam he has contested since 2013 Wimbledon, when he fell to Sergiy Stakhovsky in 4 sets. It is the only occasion he had lost prior to the 3rd round at a Grand Slam since he fell to Luis Horna in the 1st round at 2003 Roland Garros.
• Federer is bidding to win a 7th Australian Open title and equal Novak Djokovic’s all-time record for most Australian Open men’s singles titles. He won the AO title in 2004 (d. Marat Safin), 2006 (d. Marcos Baghdatis), 2007 (d. Fernando Gonzalez), 2010 (d. Andy Murray), 2017 (d. Rafael Nadal) and 2018 (d. Marin Cilic).
• Federer is also bidding to win his 21st Grand Slam title and close the gap on Steffi Graf in 3rd place on the all-time list for Grand Slam singles titles. By winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2018,Roger  Federer took sole ownership of 4th place on the list, ahead of Helen Wills Moody. Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Graf are the only other players aside from Federer to have won 20 or more Grand Slams.
• Federer is bidding to become the first man in history to win at least 7 titles at 2 different Grand Slam events. In addition to his 6 titles here, he has won 8 Wimbledon titles, 5 US Open titles and one Roland Garros title.
• Krajinovic is bidding to reach the 3rd round here for the 2nd straight year and equal his best Grand Slam result. This is his 4th appearance at the Australian Open and his 14th Grand Slam overall.
• He is also attempting to end a 7-match losing streak against Top 5 opposition. He won his first meeting against a Top 5 player when No. 2 Novak Djokovic retired due to illness in the quarterfinals at 2010 Belgrade, but has lost all 7 of his subsequent matches against Top 10 opposition.
• Krajinovic is facing a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam for the first time. The highest-ranked player he has previously faced at the majors is No. 6 Tsitsipas in the 3rd round at Roland Garros last year, where he lost in 2020 Australian Open day 3 men’s match notes 4 sets. The highest-ranked player he has defeated at the majors is No. 18 Cecchinato in the 1st round at Roland Garros last year.

Stefanos Tsitsipas v Philipp Kohlschreiber

• At 21 years 174 days, No. 6 seed Tsitsipas is bidding to become the youngest Australian Open men’s singles champion since Djokovic won the title here in 2008 aged 20 years 250 days. He would also become the youngest Grand Slam champion since Juan Martin del Potro won the title at the 2009 US Open aged 20 years 355 days. (NB Age calculated at the end of the tournament)
• Tsitsipas advanced to the 2nd round after defeating Salvatore Caruso 60 62 63 in the 1st round on Monday. It was his most dominant victory at the Grand Slams in terms of fewest games dropped.
• By defeating Caruso in the 1st round, Tsitsipas ended a 3-match losing streak at the Grand Slams. He had not previously won a Grand Slam match since Roland Garros last year, where he defeated Maximilian Marterer, Hugo Dellien and Filip Krajinovic before falling to Stan Wawrinka in the round of 16. He fell in the 1st round at both Wimbledon (l. Thomas Fabbiano) and the US Open (l. Andrey Rublev) in 2019.
• Kohlschreiber’s best Australian Open performance is reaching the round of 16 on 3 occasions – on his debut here in 2005 (l. Andy Roddick), and in 2008 (l. Jarkko Nieminen) and 2012 (l. Juan Martin del Potro).
• The German is making his 62nd Grand Slam appearance. He is 8th on the all-time list for most men’s singles appearances at the Grand Slams.
• Kohlschreiber has won one of his last 14 matches against Top 10 opposition at the Grand Slams. His only victory against a Top 10 player at the Grand Slams in that time came against No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the 3rd round at the 2018 US Open. He has a 4-23 win-loss record against Top 10 opposition at the Grand Slams and a 25-99 win-loss record against Top 10 opposition overall.

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