The Australian Open 2024 is around the corner, and this year the tournament might just usher in a new champion in the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner or Alex de Minaur. All of these players are in their early 20s and their rise in the tennis circuit in recent years might just amount to some terrific competition in the Australian Open this year. However, defending champion and World No.1, Novak Djokovic is always a threat.
In the past decade, the trophy had been shared between the Big 3 of tennis i.e. Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Now, with Federer retired, Nadal ruled out due to injury, and Djokovic aging, this might be a chance for a new superstar to emerge. Barring Stan Wawrinka in 2014, no one besides the Big Three has won the Australian Open since 2006.
When it comes to appearances in the tournament, Daniil Medvedev (2017-2023), Stefanos Tsitsipas (2018-23), Grigor Dimitrov (2014-2023), and Alexander Zverev (2016-2023) lead the list besides the Big Three. Here are 10 players with the most Australian Open titles in history –
Novak Djokovic leads the pack with the perfect 10
With 24 Grand Slams under his belt, it’s no surprise that World No.1 Djokovic leads the list with 10 Australian Open titles. He broke the record of Roger Federer’s 6 title wins Down Under in 2019, beating old foe Nadal in the finals.
The 36-year-old Serbian has defeated various opponents over the years to claim this enviable title, starting in 2008. Interestingly, he has never faced Federer in the finals, but beaten him in multiple semifinals to go to win the title (2008, 2011, 2016 and 2020). He is also the defending champion, having beaten Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) in the 2023 finals.
Roger Federer was the King of Melbourne before Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer won his first title by defeating Russia’s Marat Safin in the 2004 final. It was also Federer’s first hard court Grand Slam title. Safin took his revenge by denying Federer back-to-back titles as he won their 2005 semifinal clash. Each time Federer won, he was posed with a new challenge from newer opponents, except facing his long-time rival Rafael Nadal twice at the finals, i.e. in 2009 and 2017.
His 2017 comeback, where he beat Nadal after an intense and grueling match, which could’ve gone either way, is one for the ages. Federer won that iconic clash, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Federer’s title-winning years were mainly in the 2000s, i.e. 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and he did defend his 2017 title successfully in 2018.
How Andre Agassi set the bar for Roger Federer to be inspired
Andre Agassi is next on the list with 4 Australian Open titles. With only eight Grand Slams in his career, Agassi has attained the status of one of the all-time greats in tennis. Agassi’s biggest competition was against Pete Sampras, against whom he won his first Australian Open title in the 1995 final. He won 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
Agassi won his last Australian Open title in 2003 when he beat Germany’s Rainer Schuttler in the final convincingly, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. It was his last Grand Slam win, and three years later, he retired. Agassi also had the honor of defending his Australian Open title, having won it in back-to-back years in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
Rod Laver is the eternal home favorite with 3 titles
This Australian legendary tennis player is renowned for achieving the unthinkable Calendar Slam twice in his career (1962 & 1969). Among his 11 Grand Slams, Laver won 3 Australian Opens, encompassing both the Open Era and the era before it.
His last Australian Open win against Andres Gimeno 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 also marked the first-ever Grand Slam win in the Open Era of tennis. While some might consider him the greatest ever to grace the sport, it is a wonder Laver didn’t go on to win more titles at the AO.
Rafael Nadal could have won more than 2 Australian Open titles
‘The King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal is mostly renowned in the tennis world for his 14 French Open titles, a record highly unlikely to be broken. However, with only two Australian Open wins, Nadal also ranks 5th in the list of all-time title winners in Melbourne.
It is also a fact that Rafael Nadal would rue missing out on winning more than 2 titles Down Under, because of losing in 4 final matches. It happened twice against Djokovic, and one each against Federer and Wawrinka.
In 2009, Nadal won his first Australian Open title by defeating Federer in the final, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-2 score, a match that mostly seemed to be in Federer’s favor. His second win was in 2022 in a match that looked unwinnable for him. The Russian was leading 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), and was 3-2 up in the third set with Nadal facing 3 break points and on the brink of defeat. From there on, the Spaniard turned the game around in one of the most remarkable comebacks ever seen in the sport of tennis to win the last three sets, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Boris Becker coached Novak Djokovic to glory after winning 2 AO titles himself
The former World No.1 and currently Holger Rune’s coach and a pundit, Boris Becker won his first Australian Open against the formidable Ivan Lendl, who was himself the defending champion, heading into the 1991 finals. Becker, who was only 23 years old at the time, beat the seasoned champion after losing the first set miserably, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Becker’s second title win came against the United States’ Michael Chang in the 1996 final, as he won 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Becker also has the distinction of winning 2 Australian Opens as the coach of Novak Djokovic in 2015 and 2016.
Ivan Lendl had 2 titles of his own Down Under
Both of Ivan Lendl’s Australian Open wins were in back-to-back years in 1989 and 1990. After Becker stopped his hat-trick of wins in 1991, he never won another title in Melbourne again. However, the highlight of Lendl’s win was beating Stefan Edberg in 1990, the Swedish tennis star after whom the former Australian Open logo was apparently based.
Pete Sampras surprisingly won just 2 Australian Opens
Sampras, who had an intense rivalry with Agassi and also held the highest number of Grand Slams won (14) when he retired, has merely won two Australian Open titles. His wins were against fellow American Todd Martin (7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-4) and a comfortable one against Carlos Moya (6-2, 6-3, 6-3) in 1994 and 1997 respectively.
