Djokovic Wins 150th Major Match After Turning 30 At Australian Open

Novak Djokovic, Jaime Faria, Australian Open
Novak Djokovic with Jaime Faria (photo: Tennis Australia/Alex Coppel

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 15, 2o25 (by Michael Dickens)

While Great Britain’s Jack Draper and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain went deep into the night to win their respective matches and advance to the third round of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic took care of the business of winning his second-round match over 21-year-old Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria during daylight hours on Wednesday – and he set some records along the way.

Chances are good, the 10-time AO champion was sound asleep after the last ball was struck in Melbourne Park by Davidovich Fokina around 1:15 a.m. Thursday, when he finished off No. 29 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in a contentious five sets after trailing two-sets-to-none.

Djokovic, 37, needed four sets to put away the 125th-ranked Faria, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2, on Rod Laver Arena, but the No. 7 seed battled his way to victory and remained in the quest of winning a record-extending 25th major title and 100th tour-level crown.

“I think I responded very well in the third and particularly fourth set, the way I ended the match,” Djokovic said, after winning his 150th major match after turning 30, joining Serena Williams as they only ones to achieve that feat. “He was playing lights-out tennis towards the end of the second set and beginning of the third. I had to weather the storm. He’s been practically serving two first serves the entire match. It’s not easy to play someone like that who doesn’t have obviously anything to lose coming out. He’s a big guy, very young… so I told him at the net, the future is bright for him, he should keep going.”

Djokovic finished with 14 aces, hit 33 winners overall and converted seven of 12 break points. He outpointed Faria, who committed 52 unforced errors, 128-92.

In addition, Djokovic broke a tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam matches played in tennis history by playing in his 430th career Grand Slam match. His victory on Wednesday over Faria improved his win-loss record to 379-51 for his career at major tournaments.

“Grand Slams, of course, they are the pillars of our sport. They mean everything for the history of the sport. … Definitely the most important tournaments,” Djokovic said in his post-match news conference. “I’m just blessed to be making another record, I guess, today.”

Next, Djokovic will play No. 26 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia, who went the distance to defeat No. 170 Reilly Opelka of the United States, 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-4, in three hours and 25 minutes on 1573 Arena. Machac withstood 40 aces and 83 winners from the American giant and outpointed him 171-169.

Mensik scores latest #NextGenATP win at AO, upsets Ruud

Czechian teenager Jakub Mensik is the latest #nextGenATP rising star to shine in Melbourne Park during the first. On Wednesday evening on Margaret Court Arena, the 48th-ranked 19-year-old upset World No. 6 Casper Ruud of Norway, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in two hours and 44 minutes with clean hitting to advance to the third round. The victory – the biggest of Mensik’s young career and first over a Top 10 player in a Grand Slam – improved his overall win-loss record against Top 10 players to 5-3. His triumph came a day after Brazil’s 18-year-old Joao Fonseca upset World No. 9 Andrey Rublev of Russia in straight sets.

Mensik struck 62 winners, including 22 service aces, compared to Ruud’s 29, and he broke his opponent’s serve five times in 16 opportunities. He outpointed Ruud 126-103.

“I feel great. It was a really tough match. Casper was playing really great and it was tough from the start,” Mensik said afterward. “I am happy with my performances so far. I am happy I showed my best level on a big court.”

Earlier this season, Mensik reached the quarterfinals at two AO warm-up events, in Auckland and Brisbane. Now, he’s a win away from reaching the fourth round at a major for the first time.

Draper, Davidovich Fokina play deep into the night to win

Great Britain’s Jack Draper, seeded 15th, and No. 71 Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia put on quite a show for the fans lucky enough to score a ticket for John Cain Arena Wednesday evening. They played for four hours and 35 minutes, and once it ended, Draper had pulled off quite a thrilling comeback victory against the home favorite from Adelaide, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Kokkinakis served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set but wasn’t able to put away the victory. Instead, Draper dug in and persevered with sheer grit and determination. He finished with 65 winners and outpointed his opponent 168-153.

Through to the third round at the AO for the first time in three tries, Draper will take on another Aussie, No. 68 Aleksandar Vukic. Earlier in the evening, Vukic upset No. 22 seed Sebastian Korda of the United States, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Meanwhile, 66th-ranked Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina rallied from two sets down to defeat No. 29 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, 6-7 (9), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3, in four hours and 51 minutes, easily the longest match of the day and of the tournament. The two competitors combined to play 328 points, with Davidovich Fokina coming out on top with 175 points to 153 for Auger-Aliassime.

The match originally started on Court 8 but was moved during the first set to Court 7 due to loud and excessive noise coming from fans watching the Jacob Fearnley-Arthur Cazaux match on adjacent Court 6.

Gauff remains unbeaten in 2025, extends winning streak to 11

World No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States defeated Great Britain’s Jodie Burrage, ranked 173rd, 6-3, 7-5, in 89 minutes on Rod Laver Arena Wednesday evening to remain unbeaten this year. The victory extended Gauff’s winning streak to 11, which dates back to her run to the WTA Finals title in Riyadh last November. All of her wins in 2025 have been in straight sets.

“She was serving really well, so I was just trying to manage that, honestly,” Gauff said during her on-court interview. “All the first-serve points, I was starting off on defense. She really stepped her level up in the middle of the second set, so I was just trying to be offensive when I could.”

Although Gauff struggled at times with her serve, in which she hit seven double faults and won just 67 percent of her first-serve points, the 20-year-old American relied on her defensive prowess. It resulted in Burrage committing 45 unforced errors. Gauff broke her opponent five times in 11 tries and finished ahead on total points, 75-60.

Next, Gauff will oppose 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada, seeded 30th in Melbourne. They met earlier this month at the United Cup, with Gauff winning 6-3, 6-2. Fernandez struck 30 winners in her 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 110 Cristina Bucsa of Spain in two hours and 40 minutes on Court 6.

Around the Australian Open

• No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany prevailed over No. 44 Pedro Martinez of Spain, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1, in an hour and 54 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. Zverev, who lost just six games, relied on an attacking game against the Spaniard and won 77 percent (23 of 30) of his net exchanges. He hit 34 winners and converted six of 13 break points during the victory, which advanced him to play against 92nd-ranked Jacob Fearnley of Great Britain. Fearnley backed up his first-round victory over Australia’s Nick Kyrgios by rallying to beat No. 78 Arthur Cazaux of France, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

“Usually, I play 7-6 in the fifth to entertain you guys a bit, [but] I’m getting older so I have to shorten things up a little bit,” Zverev said in his on-court post-match remarks. “Hopefully there will be a lot more of that in the later rounds. I really like playing night matches here, I think the atmosphere is even better at night. Every time I get the opportunity to come out here in a night session, I like to make the most of it.”

• No. 12 seed Tommy Paul of the United States rallied from a set down to beat No. 76 Kei Nishikori of Japan, 6-7 (3), 6-0, 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and 41 minutes on 1573 Arena to advance to the third round for the fourth time. Paul hit 57 winners and broke Nishikori’s serve 11 times in 18 attempts in their second career meeting.

• No. 20 seed Arthur Fils won an all-French tussle with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 win over No. 74 Quentin Halys. Next, he will meet another Frenchman, No. 14 seed Ugo Humbert, who ended the historic run of 216th-ranked qualifier Hady Habib of Lebanon, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Earlier, Habib made history by becoming the first player from his country to win a main-draw match at a major.

• A trio of seeded women advanced during night play on Wednesday. No. 11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain needed just 48 minutes to advance past 150th-ranked Australian wild card Talia Gibson, 6-1, 6-0. Also, No. 12 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia eliminated No. 114 Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, 6-4, 7-5, and No. 18 Donna Vekic of Croatia rallied to beat 65th-ranked lucky loser Harriet Dart of Great Britain, 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Wednesday’s Australian Open results

Thursday’s Australian Open order of play

By the numbers

This year’s Australian Open continues to set daily attendance records. On Wednesday, despite brief rain interruptions, 86,098 fans came through the turnstiles and the AO broke its first Wednesday Day/Night attendance record of 80,537 record set in 2019. Thus far, 353,189 fans have attended the first three days of the main draw.

“Quotable …”

“It means a lot, She’s an incredibly difficult opponent for me to play. She crushed me at the US Open when I had my best outfit ever. I was so disappointed. I was so mad.

“I’m glad I got my revenge. It’s not a bad thing, revenge is competitive. She’s one of the toughest opponents out there.”

– Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, during her on-court interview, after defeating No. 20 seed Karolina Muchova of Czechia, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 on Wednesday. Muchova had previously defeated Osaka in straight sets during the second round at last year’s US Open. Now, Osaka is through to the third round of a major for the first time in three years.

 

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