Nole loves breaking records as much as he loves winning titles! After his title triumph in Geneva, Novak Djokovic joined Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to win 100 or more titles. With that, he also became the first man in the Open Era to lift a trophy in 20 different seasons. Following that emphatic feat, Djokovic thanked his family and team for staying beside him through thick and thin. He said, “Only you know how difficult it is to sustain this level of craziness from me on the court. I want to thank you for earning, together with me, this victory number 100.” After that, he took his flight to Paris to achieve yet another milestone in his career! What’s that? Well, before securing his 25th Grand Slam title, the Serb has now added yet another feather to his cap with his recent win over Cameron Norrie in the fourth round of the French Open.

Defeating all odds, Novak Djokovic outclassed the Brit by 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in that match, and with that win, he reached his 19th Roland Garros QF. No other player has reached so many QFs in the same Slam. It is also his 100th win at the French Open. Only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have 100 wins in a Grand Slam. What else did he achieve with this win against Norrie? Well, Djokovic has now also become the oldest man to reach the French Open QF since Istvan Gulyas in 1971. He now has 100+ ATP titles and 100+ Roland Garros wins. Insane!

Interesting Fact: This will also be his 62nd Grand Slam QF appearance. Federer did it 58 times, while other tennis legends like Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, or even John McEnroe didn’t even get to 30.

In 2019, while talking about breaking records, Novak Djokovic said, “In order to compete as a professional tennis player at the highest level, you really need goals, daily goals, monthly goals, yearly goals. So I do have them, as everyone else. Of course, I’m aware of the privilege that I have to fight for history and to be able to achieve even greater things, and that’s something that drives me, alongside other things.”

To deliver consistently even at the age of 38 requires sheer dedication as well as motivation. Talking about his motivations, which perhaps seem to be also his habit of breaking records, even in 2021, he spoke about this, saying, “Throughout my career, I have always been honest enough to say that the history of our sport is too big a motivation. It is an objective, yes, to prove that I can break all the records with all the results that I can obtain on the tour professionally. So, yes, I love breaking records. I’m very motivated to carry on.” Although there were quite a few question marks about his chances at the French Open this year, his incredible title triumph in Geneva has now changed the perspectives of quite a few in the tennis world. 

Caroline Wozniacki makes a bold claim about Novak Djokovic’s chances at the 2025 French Open

Novak Djokovic hasn’t won a major title since the 2023 US Open. Seeing his poor form before the Geneva Open, tennis legends like Rennae Stubbs showcased their fear surrounding the Serb by saying, “I worry the motivation is gone.” Several of them even ruled out his chances of entering the second week, but with this win against Norrie, he has improved his record to 100-16 at the French Open.

Talking about joining the likes of Rafael Nadal in the 100 wins club at the Roland Garros, Djokovic said, “It’s a very pretty number, but 101 victories sounds better. I will continue to search for another victory; it’s clearly not finished for me here. I’m very honored to make history in this sport, which has given me everything in my life.” 

With this win, Novak Djokovic has now improved his record to 19-0 in the fourth-round matches at Roland Garros. Next up for him is Alexander Zverev. The Serb has an 8-5 record against the German, can secure yet another emphatic victory, and move closer to his 25th major title.

Well, previously, while commenting on Novak Djokovic’s road to glory in Paris, American legend John McEnroe said, “You might look back and he loses and, ‘Ah, see, of course, he’s 38. He’s too old. It caught up to him,’ or whatever. But you don’t count him out. And he’s got the best draw of anyone to get to there. And the way… you know, Zverev’s not playing with the same confidence that he played with until he reached the finals of Australia this year. He’s not… that really hurt him, I think, mentally, at least from what I’ve seen. And he doesn’t seem to be playing with the same confidence. So I could see the possibility of him (Djokovic) getting there and I’m not… whether or not Zverev was there, I don’t think Novak would go in being much of an underdog there.“

McEnroe picked Djokovic as the “third favorite” in this tournament. Now, following that, even the TNT Sports expert and former tennis player Caroline Wozniacki also showcased a bit of optimism with the Serbian. “This year, he could have won Australia if he hadn’t gotten hurt. And I think this year, all of a sudden, he came from no form to coming into form, winning last week, and you can’t write him off. I mean, he has 24 Grand Slam titles for a reason. I think if he can stay healthy throughout these two weeks, he’s a force to be reckoned with, and I think he has a great draw. I think because of the experience, because he’s been there so many times, I think he definitely has the chance to win. I believe that he can beat anyone when he’s playing his best tennis.” Do you think Novak Djokovic can reach the SF by defeating the world number 3 in the epic QF clash?