Novak Djokovic once had to play in qualifying at Wimbledon before he became a household name.
Wimbledon qualifying has been taking place this week, with 128 lower-ranked players competing in both the men’s and women’s draw in an attempt to reach the main draw.
This includes Dan Evans, who played his final ever singles match in qualifying after he was not awarded a wildcard.
Djokovic only played in Wimbledon qualifying once, having been part of the pre-main draw event back in 2005.
Novak Djokovic came through qualifying at Wimbledon in 2005
Djokovic competed in Wimbledon qualifying in 2005, with his ranking of world number 128 unable to get him direct entry into the main draw.
The then 18-year-old had already competed in the main draw of the two previous Grand Slams, with Djokovic coming through qualifying at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, having even won a main draw match at the latter.
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Djokovic continued his 100% record in Grand Slam qualifying at Wimbledon, having overcome Brian Baker, Yeu-tzuoo Wang and Wesley Moodie, coming from a set down twice in his final match.
This enabled Djokovic to reach the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time, and he took advantage of this after beating Juan Monaco and Guillermo Garcia Lopez to reach the third round of a major tournament for the first time.
Djokovic’s five-match winning streak at Wimbledon came to an end against ninth seed Sebastian Grosjean, who he lost to in four sets.
| Wimbledon 2005 | Novak Djokovic’s Result |
| (Qualifying) First Round | Djokovic beat Brian Baker, 1-1 (Baker retired) |
| Second Round | Djokovic beat Yeu-tzuoo Wang, 6-4 6-4 |
| Third Round | Djokovic beat Wesley Moodie, 4-6 6-0 6(2)-7 7-6(4) 6-3 |
| (Main draw) First Round | Djokovic beat Juan Monaco, 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 |
| Second Round | Djokovic beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez, 3-6 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 6-4 |
| Third Round | Sebastian Grosjean (9) beat Djokovic, 7-5 6-4 5-7 6-4 |
How many times has Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon?
This was just the start for Djokovic, who has since become one of the greatest players in Wimbledon history.
In his 20 appearances at Wimbledon, Djokovic has won seven titles, which is equal to Pete Sampras’ tally.
The only man who has won more singles titles at Wimbledon than Djokovic is Roger Federer, who won eight in his career.
| Men who have won the most Wimbledon titles in the Open Era | Number of titles they have won |
| Roger Federer | 8 |
| Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras | 7 |
| Bjorn Borg | 5 |
| John McEnroe and Boris Becker | 3 |
Djokovic last won Wimbledon in 2022, having lost in two finals since then, and he will be hoping to equal Federer’s record at this year’s tournament.
As the seventh seed, Djokovic could face Wimbledon favourite Jannik Sinner from the quarter-final stages this year, something he will learn when the draw takes place on Friday, June 26.
The main draw of Wimbledon will get underway on Monday, June 29.
