This is how Djokovic performed at the Australian Open when it was his first tournament of the year: titles and also disappointments

Andrés Tomás Rico | 13 Jan 2026 | 19.30

This is how Djokovic performed at the Australian Open when it was his first tournament of the year: titles and also disappointments. Photo: Gettyimages

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Novak Djokovic arrives at the Australian Open without having played a single match before. The Serbian, aware that his main weakness last year was his physical condition, aims to arrive as fresh as possible for the first major event of the year, especially considering that Melbourne is where he has triumphed the most, a total of 10 times.

In several of those instances, the Australian Open was his first tournament of the season. However, that has not always translated to success for the Balkan player. In fact, his plan for 2026 was to start the season at the ATP Adelaide, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion chose not to risk it and preferred to kick off the season directly at Melbourne Park.

How has Novak Djokovic fared when starting the season at the Australian Open?

Djokovic has chosen seven times to begin the season directly at the Australian Open, and the first time he did so turned out brilliantly in 2008 when he clinched his first title in Melbourne, marking the beginning of his twenty-four Grand Slam victories.

After seeing success in 2008, the Belgrade native repeated the formula in 2010. In 2009, he opted to play beforehand in Brisbane and Sydney and failed to defend the title, exiting in the quarterfinals to Andy Roddick. Thus, in 2010, he tried to follow the steps of 2008, yet he left empty-handed again, eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who sought revenge from the 2008 final.

Despite that defeat, Djokovic repeated the experiment in 2011, prioritizing freshness over match practice, and it paid off. He captured his second Australian Open title and his second Grand Slam of his career, dropping just one set along the way, setting the stage for his most magical year where he proved to be on par with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.

In 2012, a similar scenario unfolded with the year starting at the Australian Open once more, resulting in his third championship victory. However, that year may have been his toughest as he battled for five hours and 53 minutes to defeat Rafa Nadal in the longest final in Grand Slam history. Perhaps, had he played a prior tournament that year, his stamina might not have endured to overcome the Mallorcan in that historic match.

The adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" prevailed for Novak Djokovic. In 2013, he again arrived in Melbourne without prior tournament play and secured his third consecutive Australian Open and his fourth overall. However, that marked the last successful year following this strategy since then, as he has failed to reclaim the title arriving in Melbourne without match practice. In 2014, his streak was broken as he was unable to defend the crown, falling in the quarterfinals to Stan Wawrinka, who eventually seized the title.

Since that year, the last time Djokovic entered Melbourne without prior practice was in 2018 due to an over six-month hiatus resulting from elbow issues. However, after a defeat in the round of 16 to a relentless Hyeon Chung, he opted for surgery, ending his strategy of showing up at the Australian Open without prior tournament play. Since then, he has claimed the title in four (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023) out of his six participations.

In 2026, he repeats this tactic once again. Whether for the same reasons or due to increasing the need to preserve his body, only time will tell if this approach will lead him to another Australian Open victory and his coveted 25th Grand Slam or if it will end with the disappointments of 2010, 2014, or 2018.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Así rindió Djokovic en el Open de Australia cuando fue su primer torneo del año: títulos y también decepciones