Novak Djokovic has enjoyed stunning success at Grand Slam level, boasting more titles than any other man.
Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion, and needs one more success to move beyond female icon Margaret Court.
His next chance arrives at the 2026 Australian Open, a tournament the former ATP number one has won 10 times, again more than any other man.
Djokovic will play at the Adelaide International in preparation for the hard-court Grand Slam, which returns to Melbourne Park next month.
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Novak Djokovic left Martina Navratilova in shock with his 2020 US Open disqualification
He clearly has a strong affinity with the Australian Open, but he’s also managed to conquer the other three Grand Slams.
Djokovic did, however, suffer a truly brutal experience at the US Open once upon a time, when he was disqualified.
The Serbian entered the 2020 US Open as a 17-time Grand Slam champion, but lost control of his emotions during his round of 16 clash with Pablo Carreno Busta.
At 5-6 in the first set in New York, he was ejected after hitting a line umpire with a ball.
As quoted by BBC Sport, tennis legend Martina Navratilova was left in shock by the incident, saying: “Unbelievable what just happened on the court at the US Open.
“Novak Djokovic defaulted for inadvertently but stupidly hitting a lineswoman in the throat with a ball and the officials had no choice but to default.
“Wow. Glad the woman is OK – we must do better than that.”
How Pablo Carreno Busta reacted to Novak Djokovic hitting a line umpire with a ball
It was quite simply a moment of madness from Djokovic, who more often than not cuts a composed figure on the court.
The number one seed was making unforced errors at the time, although his most significant came with the unfortunate striking of the lineswoman.
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Unsurprisingly, the man on the other side of the court was asked for his reaction to the situation after the match.
Carreno Busta said: “Well, I didn’t watch the moment when he threw the ball, no? I was looking to my coach, celebrating the break. When I turned back again, the line umpire was on the floor.
“I’m very apprehensive with these kinds of things, so I was a little bit in shock, no? I asked to the Colombian guys who were in the crowd if the ball hit the line umpire, and I was in shock.
“I never expected this moment playing against Novak, you know. So it was a tough moment also to me. And then when they were talking on the net, I just tried to be focused if the case that we have to continue playing.
“In one moment I asked to the referee, What’s happening? Because I didn’t know if… it was so long, to me, no, this moment.
“So I don’t know. It was 10 minutes or 15 minutes. But it was a little bit cold, so I need to be ready in case, in the case that we have to continue. I just asked him, and then finally Novak gave me the hand. That’s it.”
Djokovic’s default blew the 2020 US Open draw wide open, with Carreno Busta going on to reach the semifinals.
The Spaniard was knocked out by Alexander Zverev, who lost the final to Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller.
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