Novak Djokovic’s 50 Grand Slam semi-finals: Tennis icon hits new milestone
The records keep on coming for Novak Djokovic.
After defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a pulsating Australian Open quarter-final, Djokovic became the first man in history to reach a 50th Grand Slam semi-final.
To mark his latest achievement, we unpack some of the incredible statistics behind this new record.
Consistency across all Slams
Djokovic’s semi-finals are spread pretty evenly across all four majors.
This is his 12th Australian Open semi-final, matching his haul of 12 semi-final appearances at Roland Garros.
That is just one away from his records at Wimbledon and the US Open, having reached 13 semi-finals in both London and New York.
His first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open came back in 2008, where he went on to win the first of his 10 titles at the tournament.
Djokovic’s first Grand Slam semi-final came at age 20 at the 2007 French Open, while he was also a Wimbledon semi-finalist later that year.
Incredible semi-final record
Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in his 50th Grand Slam semi-final – having previously beaten the German in the last four of the 2021 US Open.
That is one of 37 Grand Slam semi-final wins for Djokovic, who has lost just 12 times at that stage of a Grand Slam tournament.
His best record is at the Australian Open, where he won 10 straight semi-finals before his 2024 defeat to Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic holds a 7-5 semi-final record at Roland Garros, a staggering 10-3 record at Wimbledon, and an equal 10-3 record at the US Open.
Record extended
Djokovic already held the record for most Grand Slam men’s singles semi-finals in the Open Era, just ahead of Roger Federer.
The Serbian’s haul of 50 last-four appearances extends his gap over Federer to four, with the Swiss having reached 46 major semi-finals during his legendary career.
Unsurprisingly, it is fellow ‘Big Three’ member Rafael Nadal in third place, with 38 semi-finals.
Next best is Jimmy Connors (31), closely followed by Ivan Lendl (28) and Andre Agassi (26) rounding out the top five.
Pete Sampras is sixth among men in the Open Era with 23, while Djokovic’s former rival – turned coach – Andy Murray reached 21 Grand Slam semi-finals.
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More records to come?
Djokovic could yet break – or extend – more records at the Australian Open across the next few days.
The Serbian will be eyeing up an 11th Australian Open final and an 11th title, with Djokovic’s 10 previous finals and titles Down Under both already records.
He will also look to extend his record of 24 Grand Slam singles victories and become the first player – man or woman – across all eras to win 25 major singles titles.
Should he win the title, he would also become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion of the Open Era.
The current record holder is Ken Rosewall, who was 37 years and two months old when he won the Australian Open back in 1972.
Aged 37 years and eight months, Djokovic would eclipse Rosewall by half a year.
