By Howard Fendrich
Novak Djokovic set the record for the most Grand Slam singles trophies won by a man when he earned No. 23 by defeating Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 in the French Open final on Sunday.
Djokovic entered the day with 22, tied with Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer, who announced his retirement last year, is next with 20.
Among women, Margaret Court leads the way with 24, some earned during the sport's amateur era, while Serena Williams finished her career last season with 23, the most in the Open era.
Here is a look at each of Djokovic's major championships so far — 10 at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon, three at the U.S. Open and three at the French Open — starting with the first:
No. 1: 2008 Australian Open
Final: Beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2)
What He Did: Eliminated Roger Federer in the semifinals, then didn't face a break point in the second or third sets against Tsonga, before saving one in the fourth.
What He Said: “I’m very, very happy that I won my first Grand Slam here, so hopefully we’ll see you here on this stage a lot more often.”
No. 2: 2011 Australian Open
Final: Beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
What He Did: Broke to end the first set with the help of a 38-stroke point exchange. Before the tournament, his rivals' Grand Slam counts looked like this: Federer with 16, Rafael Nadal with nine.
What He Said: “I don’t want to fly up to the sky and say, ‘I am the best,’ or whatever. I cannot compare to Rafa and Roger’s success.”
No. 3: 2011 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
What He Did: Became the first player other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Slam final, and replaced Nadal at No. 1 in the rankings.
What He Said: “This is what I’m made for: I want to win. I’m a professional. I want to win more majors, more titles. Obviously, the U.S. Open is the next big thing.”
No. 4: 2011 U.S. Open
Final: Beat Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1
What He Did: Overcame a two-set deficit, then two match points, to eliminate Federer in the semifinals, then defeated Nadal across 4 hours, 10 minutes in the final. That made Djokovic 10-1 against those two opponents that season.
What He Said: “There is a lot more to prove, a lot more tournaments to win.”
No. 5: 2012 Australian Open
Final: Beat Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5
What He Did: Came out on top in a 5-hour, 53-minute marathon that was so exhausting, both men were given chairs to sit in during the trophy ceremony.
What He Said: “I tried mentally to hang in there, to hold my composure, to hold my emotions.”
No. 6: 2013 Australian Open
Final: Beat Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2
What He Did: Became the first man with three consecutive Australian Open titles in the professional era, which began in 1968.
What He Said: “I have no reason not to be confident in myself.”
No. 7: 2014 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Federer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4
What He Did: Denied Federer what would have been a record eighth championship at the All England Club.
What He Said: “I managed to not just win against my opponent, but win against myself, as well, and find that inner strength.”
No. 8: 2015 Australian Open
Final: Beat Murray 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0
What He Did: Rebounded from a quarterfinal exit the year before in Melbourne Park.
What He Said: "It was a cat-and-mouse fight. It always is with us.”
No. 9: 2015 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Federer 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3
What He Did: Managed four breaks against Federer, who had won 89 of 90 service games in the tournament entering the final.
What He Said: “There is always something I can work on, and I know I can get my game to a higher level.”
No. 10: 2015 U.S. Open
Final: Beat Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
What He Did: Saved 19 of 23 break points.
What He Said: “We pushed each other to the limit, as we always do.”
No. 11: 2016 Australian Open
Final: Beat Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3)
What He Did: Equaled Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg for fifth on the men's Grand Slam title list.
What He Said: “I never experienced this much crowd and this much love.”
No. 12: 2016 French Open
Final: Beat Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
What He Did: Complete a career Grand Slam and became the first man since Laver in 1969 to win four consecutive major titles.
What He Said: “It’s really a very special moment. Perhaps the greatest moment of my career.”
No. 13: 2018 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3)
What He Did: Won his first major championship since surgery on his right elbow.
What He Said: “It was a long journey. I couldn’t pick a better place, to be honest, in the tennis world to peak and to make a comeback.”
No. 14: 2018 U.S. Open
Final: Beat Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3
What He Did: Pulled even with his idol, Pete Sampras, at 14 major titles.
What He Said: “Maybe 10 years ago, I would say I’m not so happy to be part of this era with Nadal and Federer. Actually, today I am. I really am. I feel like these guys ... have made me the player I am.”
No. 15: 2019 Australian Open
Final: Beat Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
What He Did: Thoroughly dominated Nadal, compiling 34 winners and making just nine unforced errors.
What He Said: “Under the circumstances, it was truly a perfect match.”
No. 16: 2019 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3)
What He Did: Saved two championship points at 8-7 in the fifth set, then won the first Wimbledon final to go to a fifth-set tiebreaker.
What He Said: “Unfortunately in these kinds of matches, one of the players has to lose. It’s quite unreal.”
No. 17: 2020 Australian Open
Final: Beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
What He Did: Dizzy from dehydration, used serve-and-volley to erase a pair of break points, one in the fourth set and another in the fifth.
What He Said: “I was on the brink of losing the match."
No. 18: 2021 Australian Open
Final: Beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2
What He Did: Tore an abdominal muscle in the third round, dropped five sets on the way to the final — his most en route to a Slam title match — and then ended Medvedev's 20-match winning streak.
What He Said: "Most of my attention and my energy from this day forward, until I retire from tennis, is going to be directed (at) majors, trying to win more major trophies.”
No. 19: 2021 French Open
Final: Beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
What He Did: Eliminated Nadal in the semifinals — becoming the only man to defeat Nadal twice at Roland Garros — then erased a two-set deficit in the final.
What He Said: "I’ve achieved some things that a lot of people thought it would be not possible for me to achieve.”
No. 20: 2021 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
What He Did: Pulled even with Federer and Nadal with 20 major titles.
What He Said: “I consider myself best, and I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn’t be talking confidently about winning Slams and making history. But whether I’m the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people.”
No. 21: 2022 Wimbledon
Final: Beat Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
What He Did: Over the last two sets, accumulated 31 winners, made only eight unforced errors and faced zero break points.
What He Said: “The more you win, it’s logical the more confident, the more comfortable you feel out there every next time you step out on the court.”
No. 22: 2023 Australian Open
Final: Beat Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5)
What He Did: A year after being deported from Australia because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic overcame a bad hamstring and off-court hubbub involving his father.
What He Said: “This probably is the, I would say, biggest victory of my life.”
No. 23: 2023 French Open
Final: Beat Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5
What He Did: Djokovic broke his tie with Nadal at 22 majors and became the first man to have won at least three titles at each Slam event.
What He Said: “It’s not a coincidence that I won the 23rd Grand Slam here in Paris, because this tournament was the hardest one for me to win every day of my career.”
