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Novak Djokovic holding on to the record of being the youngest male in the Open Era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments has left tennis fans thoroughly impressed.
Djokovic reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the 2007 French Open. He followed that up with a semifinal finish at the Wimbledon Championships and a runner-up performance at the US Open that same year.
The Serb then reached the semifinals of the 2008 Australian Open, beating two-time defending champion Roger Federer, before triumphing over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In doing so, he not only clinched his maiden Major title but also became the only male player to reach all four Grand Slam semifinals before turning 21.
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Carlos Alcaraz had the opportunity to match Djokovic's feat at the ongoing Australian Open. However, Alexander Zverev thwarted Alcaraz's bid, claiming a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 win over the 20-year-old in the quarterfinals. As a result, Djokovic remains the only male player to achieve this feat before the age of 21.
Several tennis fans expressed their admiration for Novak Djokovic's enduring record. Some of them claimed that the World No. 1's early accomplishments were often overlooked because of his arch-rival Rafael Nadal's extraordinary achievements as a teenager.
"He was an underrated prodigy because he was in the same era as Nadal. Similar issue for Murray and many others," a fan wrote.
"Djokovic's greatness at a young age was completely overshadowed by the fact that he came along immediately after Rafa, the greatest tennis prodigy of all-time. Guy won five grand slam matches at 18 years old.
"He made the French Open quarterfinals a couple weeks after his 19th birthday. A young player like that would be hyped to the moon today but everybody shrugged their shoulders back then because Rafa was beating peak Federer at Roland Garros when he was 19," another fan posted.
Meanwhile, one fan pointed out that the feat served as evidence of the 24-time Grand Slam champion's consistency across all three surfaces, even at a young age.
"This is interesting because he wasn't necessarily the most precocious player of all times, but shows he already had the consistency across the 3 surfaces," the fan commented.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
Novak Djokovic to take on Jannik Sinner in Australian Open 2024 SF
Novak Djokovic will continue his title defense against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open. Sinner claimed a dominant 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev to book his place against the World No. 1.
Djokovic leads 4-2 in his head-to-head against the Italian. However, Sinner has triumphed in two of their three most recent encounters, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champions in the group stage of the 2023 ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals. Meanwhile, Djokovic triumphed over the 22-year-old in the ATP Finals final last year.
After defeating Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev will square off against Daniil Medvedev for a place in the Australian Open final. Medvedev enjoys an 11-7 lead in his head-to-head record against Zverev.
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