Novak Djokovic boasts more Grand Slam titles than any other man, but things haven’t always gone his way on the biggest of stages.
Djokovic has enjoyed most of his success at the Australian Open, claiming 10 titles throughout his glittering career.
The former ATP number one also won Wimbledon seven times, and boasts four US Open titles and three French Open titles.
But one of his biggest nightmares in his entire tennis career arrived at Grand Slam level, when Djokovic was defaulted at the 2020 US Open.
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Alexander Zverev was shocked by Novak Djokovic’s default at the 2020 US Open
Finding it tough in his round of 16 meeting with Pablo Carreno Busta, Djokovic completely lost control, striking a line umpire with a ball that wasn’t in play.
A lengthy discussion followed, and it was decided that the Serbian star would be defaulted from the event.
Unsurprisingly, other players were asked about the bizarre situation after their own matches at the time, including Alexander Zverev.
Annoyed, the German did manage to offer a response, saying: “I was 100% sure that I was not going to get asked this question.
“I mean, look, it’s unfortunate. He hit a ball, he hit a tennis ball. It’s very unfortunate that, you know, he hit the line judge, and especially where it hit her.
“Yeah, there is a rule in place for it. I think the supervisors and all of them are just doing their job. But, yeah, very unlucky for Novak. I think he’s going to be a little bit upset about it, but, yeah.
“He could have… if he would have hit it anywhere else, if it would have landed anywhere else, we are talking about a few inches, he would have been fine. So, yeah, very unlucky.”
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And when asked if he’d ever been in a similar situation, he replied: “I don’t think I have ever gotten defaulted yet in my career or in my life.
“No, I haven’t been in a situation like that. But as I said, it’s very unlucky, very unfortunate. The decision was made I think by the supervisors, and as I said, they are just doing their job.
“There is nothing much else I can say to that. I don’t know… yeah. I mean, I don’t know what to say. I’m a little bit in shock right now, to be honest.”
Alexander Zverev almost took full advantage of Novak Djokovic’s default
It was a truly shocking situation in every sense of the word, with Djokovic perhaps more surprised than anyone else.
His unfortunate story at the 2020 US Open did, however, play into the hands of Zverev, who was in the same half of the draw.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2020 | US Open | Hard | Dominic Thiem | 6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6, 6–7(6–8) |
| Loss | 2024 | French Open | Clay | Carlos Alcaraz | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2025 | Australian Open | Hard | Jannik Sinner | 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 3–6 |
| Win | 2026 | French Open | Clay | Flavio Cobolli | 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–1 |
The German took advantage early on, defeating Carreno Busta in the semifinals to reach the final in New York.
But he fell short in his maiden Grand Slam final, losing to Dominic Thiem despite winning the first two sets.
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