Novak Djokovic time on court at the Australian Open compared to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Shahida Jacobs
Novak Djokovic cools down
Novak Djokovic (SRB) cools down after winning his tennis match

Novak Djokovic is racking up the hours at the 2024 Australian Open as he has already surpassed the 15-hour milestone after only five matches at the season-opening Grand Slam.

The defending champion was involved in another lung-busting match on Tuesday as he defeated world No 12 Taylor Fritz in four sets in the quarter-final during a day match in searing conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

That match took three hours and 45 minutes to complete as he took his tally for the tournament to 15 hours and 9 minutes, the most so far although two of the four last-eight matches still need to be completed with the likes of Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev also certain to pass the 15-hour mark.

By contrast, Djokovic clocked 17 hours and 35 minutes on court during his seven matches en route to last year’s Australian Open title, but he is no stranger to lengthy matches at Melbourne Park as in 2021 he also spent 15 hours on court across his first five matches before winning the semi-final and final in straight sets.

So far, Djokovic spent four hours on court during his first-round win over Dino Prizmic, 3h11m against Alexei Popyrin in the second round, 2h28m against Tomas Etcheverry in the third round and 1h44m against Adrian Mannarino in the fourth round.

So how does his time on court compare to the remaining players in the draw?

Of course, the Hubert Hurkacz-Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev-Carlos Alcaraz quarter-final matches still have to be completed.

But even before his match against Fritz, Djokovic was well ahead of Alcaraz and Sinner, who are expected to be his main challengers for the title.

Zverev topped the hours chart before the quarter-finals as he had clocked 13 hours and 47 minutes in his first four matches. The German is well ahead of the eight hours and 42 minutes of his next opponent Alcaraz. Zverev has already played two five-set matches and one four-setter.

Medvedev was next in terms of most hours spent on court as he was on 12 hours and 16 minutes after four matches while his quarter-final opponent Hurkacz will start the match with 10h51m next to his name.

Rublev was on 11h34 minutes before his clash against Sinner and finished his campaign on 14 hours and 23 minutes after losing against the Italian. Sinner spent only one minute more than Alcaraz on court after four matches but took his tally to 11 overs after his win over Rublev.

Most Time Spent On Court

1. Novak Djokovic – 15 hours and 9 minutes (five matches)
2. Taylor Fritz – 14 hours and 40 minutes (five matches)
3. Andrey Rublev – 14 hours and 23 minutes (five matches)
4. Alexander Zverev – 13 hours and 47 minutes (four matches)
5. Daniil Medvedev – 12 hours and 16 minutes (four matches)
6. Jannik Sinner – 11 hours and 22 minutes (five matches)
7. Hubert Hurkacz – 10 hours and 51 minutes (four matches)
8. Carlos Alcaraz – 8 hours and 42 minutes (four matches)

READ MORE: Taylor Fritz gives a graphic glimpse of how it feels to play against Novak Djokovic