Novak Djokovic began his quest for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title by reaching a milestone that perfectly encapsulates his two decades of dominance. With a clinical 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Spain's Pedro Martinez, the 38-year-old became the first man in history to record 100 match wins at the Australian Open.
With his 100th victory at Melbourne Park, Djokovic has achieved a unique "Triple Century" across three different Grand Slam surfaces. He now holds over 100 wins on hard courts (Melbourne), grass (Wimbledon - 102), and clay (Roland Garros - 101).
Beyond the century of wins, Djokovic also equalled two more prestigious all-time records on Monday night:
21 Australian Open appearances: Equalling the record held by Roger Federer.
81 Grand Slam appearances: Drawing level with the overall record shared by Federer and Feliciano Lopez.
History-making is a great motivation. Particularly in the last five or ten years of my career, once I got myself in a position where I could eventually create history, I was even more inspired to play my best tennis
Novak Djokovic
The world number four produced what many analysts described as a "serving exhibition." In a match lasting exactly two hours, Djokovic was virtually untouchable on his own delivery:
First-serve points won: 93% (53 out of 57 points won on serve).
Service holds: 8 holds to love.
Break points faced: Zero.
Aces: 14, including one to seal the match.
The efficiency of the win is crucial for Djokovic. Having skipped all warm-up tournaments to manage his physical "juice," the Serb is conscious that to beat the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he must keep his early-round matches short and sharp.
In a light-hearted post-match press conference, Djokovic joked about Carlos Alcaraz’s newly "retooled" service motion, which many have noted resembles Djokovic’s own clinical delivery.
"As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message and said, ‘You know, we have to speak about the copyrights!’" Djokovic quipped. "Every ace I expect a tribute to me!"
While Djokovic took center stage, other veterans and seeds progressed through a record-breaking day at the Open:
Stan Wawrinka: The 2014 champion kicked off his farewell season with a gritty four-set win over Laslo Djere.
Daniil Medvedev: The three-time runner-up advanced in straight sets against Jesper de Jong.
Seeds Progressing: Alex de Minaur (6), Casper Ruud (12), and Andrey Rublev (13) all moved safely into the second round.
