How Novak Djokovic can equal Roger Federer’s record and end the 16-year US
The great Serbian won his 24th and most current major title at the 2023 US Open, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Djokovic won three Grand Slams last year and hopes to avoid missing a major in 2024 for the first time since 2017.
Five different men have won the US Open in the last five years, including Rafael Nadal (2019), Dominic Thiem (2020), Daniil Medvedev (2021), and Carlos Alcaraz (2022), who won before Djokovic last year.
Interestingly, no one has defended the US Open championship since 2008, when Roger Federer won an amazing fifth consecutive title at the New York Grand Slam.
Since Federer’s dominance run ended, only Nadal and Djokovic have won numerous US Open titles, four each.
US Open men’s singles champions since 2008
2008 – Roger Federer
2009 – Juan Martin del Potro
2010 – Rafael Nadal
2011 – Novak Djokovic
2012 – Andy Murray
2013 – Rafael Nadal
2014 – Marin Cilic
2015 – Novak Djokovic
2016 – Stan Wawrinka
2017 – Rafael Nadal
2018 – Novak Djokovic
2019 – Rafael Nadal
2020 – Dominic Thiem
2021 – Daniil Medvedev
2022 – Carlos Alcaraz
2023 – Novak Djokovic
Federer is the only man to have defended titles at three Grand Slam tournaments in the Open Era, having done so at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
The Swiss also shares the record for the most successful major title defences (10) with Rafael Nadal, who has defended the French Open ten times.
Djokovic has defended his Australian Open title five times, and he has won Wimbledon back-to-back on three occasions.
The 37-year-old has yet to successfully defend his titles at the US Open or the French Open, but with a win at Flushing Meadows, he could equal Federer’s record of three Slam title defences.
During his pre-tournament press conference, Djokovic revealed that he was unaware that no player had defended the US Open championship in 16 years.
“I didn’t know that,” Djokovic stated. “I knew it had been the case for at least five or ten years, but I had no idea how long. Hopefully that will change this year. That is the goal.
Djokovic, who has reached a record ten US Open finals, has the potential to tie Federer, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors’ Open Era total of five championships at the New York major.
