Djokovic’s 100th Win At Australian Open Caps Another Record-Setting Day

Novak Djokovic, Australian Open
Novak Djokovic (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 19, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, a semifinalist at all four majors last year, headlined Monday’s night session on Rod Laver Arena, and he didn’t disappoint. 

The World No. 4 Djokovic completed a straight-sets sweep of 71st-ranked Pedro Martinez of Spain, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in two hours that was pleasing to the crowd. It was his 100th career win at the Australian Open, a plateau he’s also reached at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. The 38-year-old Serbian icon is now two behind Roger Federer‘s all-time AO record of 102 career victories. 

Djokovic, now into his 21st Australian Open campaign, equaled the tournament record held by Federer. By appearing in his 81st Grand Slam event, he equaled another record that Federer shared with Feliciano Lopez.

Although Djokovic has lost in the first round in Melbourne twice before, the most recent of those came 20 years ago – and against Martinez, Djokovic controlled the first-round match from first ball to last ball. He hit 49 winners – including 14 aces, the last one on match point – and dropped just three points on his first serve while winning 93 percent (41 of 44) of his first-serve points. Djokovic faced no break points on his serve and broke Martinez five times in 12 opportunities. He outpointed his opponent 98-57.

“What can I say? I like the sound of it. … Centurion is pretty nice,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview. “It’s nice to be a centurion in these numbers. History making is a great motivation, particularly in the last five, 10 years of my career. Once I got myself in a position to create history, I was even more inspired to play the best tennis.

“I was very fortunate early on to encounter some people that taught me and guided me to play the long shot with my career, not to burn out too quickly, and try to have the longest career possible. I’m blessed to still be playing at this level.”

In advancing to the second round in his 19th consecutive AO appearance, Djokovic next will play 141st-ranked Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli, who went the distance to defeat No. 64 Terence Atmane of France, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1. It was his first main-draw win at a major.

During his pre-tournament news conference Saturday, Djokovic was asked about going after a 25th Grand Slam title. He said: “I try to focus myself on what I have achieved, not what I’m possibly achieving. “I mean, I hope to comes to that, but 24 is also not a bad number. I have to appreciate that and remind myself of the amazing career I had and also, you know, release some of that unnecessary pressure.”

Gauff shows she’s ready to make a long run

World No. 3 Coco Gauff of the United States needed just an hour and 39 minutes to advance to the second round Monday afternoon on Rod Laver Arena. The third-seeded American defeated No. 93 Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan, 6-2, 6-3, in which she struck 20 winners, converted six of 14 break points and outpointed her opponent 74-55. Gauff has had difficulty with her serve and against Rakhimova, she committed seven double faults – but also won 73 percent of her first-serve points. 

Gauff, who has now won her last 22 matches against players ranked outside the Top 50, improved her first-round record at Grand Slam events to 23-4 and secured her 75th overall match win at a major. Her best run in Melbourne was reaching the semifinals in 2024 before losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. Last year, she reached the quarterfinals.

“I try not to put so much pressure on myself at the first round,” the 21-year-old Gauff said during her on-court interview. “I think at this point I just want to win the tournament. Whether I win first round or in the final, I don’t think I’ll be as satisfied. So, until then, I’m OK. …

“I said in my press conference that winning is the only satisfying result. But that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of myself throughout the tournament. I think I’ll only be satisfied if I win. But I’m also proud of myself regardless of how I do in the tournament.”

Wawrinka begins final AO campaign with a win

It’s been 12 years since Stan Wawrinka broke through to win his first major title at the 2014 Australian Open. Recently, the 40-year-old Swiss star announced that 2026 would be his last year on the ATP Tour. Awarded a wild card into this year’s main draw, the 139th-ranked Wawrinka arrived hopeful of enjoying a strong run here in his final tournament at Melbourne Park.

On Monday, Wawrinka rallied from a set down to beat Serbia’s 92nd-ranked Laslo Djere, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in three hours and 20 minutes on Kia Arena. It was Wawrinka’s first win at a Grand Slam since 2024 at Wimbledon – and snapped a four-match losing streak at majors. He’s making his 20th appearance in Melbourne and 75th overall at the majors.

“It has been a long journey. It has been amazing, so many memories here, it has been incredible,” Wawrinka said during his on-court interview. “The only reason I come back is because of the love you give me; it was amazing today. It is my last year. The passion is still intact. I am not young anymore, so I have to be careful.

“Today was amazing, so special to be on court and at a Grand Slam. It is the reason I train hard every day with my team, to be here competing with the best players in the world. I am so happy I won and have a chance to play one more match here. I am trying to enjoy but I am also a competitor, so I am always going to fight and hopefully I will play another good match.”

Wawrinka, whose other major titles came at Roland-Garros in 2015 and at the US Open in 2016, next will play 21-year-old French qualifier Arthur Gea, ranked 198th, who upset No. 17 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 7-5, in two hours and 41 minutes on 1573 Arena.

Swiatek begins pursuit for career Grand Slam with win

While only six women – Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova – have achieved a career Grand Slam in the Open Era, 24-year-old Polish superstar Iga Swiatek hopes to add her name to this esteemed list in two-weeks time.

“I think you guys are thinking more about it,” the Swiatek said during her pre-tournament news conference. “I mean, honestly since the beginning of the year, there are many people coming to me and talking to me about it. I’m really just focusing on, like, day-by-day work. This is how I actually was able to achieve the success that I already have, just focusing really on grinding, match by match.

“Winning a Grand Slam is tough. Like a lot of things have to come together to do that. Obviously, it would be a dream come true. This is not, like, my clear goal that I wake up with.”

Monday evening on Rod Laver Arena, Swiatek opened against 130th-ranked Chinese qualifier Yuan Yue and won 7-6 (5), 6-3 in two hours. It was her 25th-straight first-round win at the majors.

“I was a bit rusty at the beginning,” Swiatek said afterwards. “Many ups and downs, but overall, I have some stuff to work on. I’ll just focus on that.”

Swiatek came from 5-3 down in the opening set to put it out in a tie-break, then went to work in the second set. She overcame 35 unforced errors by hitting 23 winners. Swiatek outpointed Yuan 83-71.

“I started a bit tight. I needed to get my legs moving,” Swiatek said. “Go after my shots. Be brave with the decisions. It’s not hard to win matches when everything is going well. Today it wasn’t, but I was able to win.”

Swiatek’s most recent major win came at Wimbledon last year. She’s also won four French Open titles and captured the US Open crown in 2022. Twice she has reached the semifinals in Melbourne.

Around the Australian Open

• World No. 6 and Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur began his AO campaign during the day session on Rod Laver Arena with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 triumph over lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald of the United States, who replaced Italy’s Matteo Berrettini due to injury on Saturday. 

While de Minaur reached the quarterfinals for the first time in Melbourne in 2025, he’s lost all six Grand Slam quarterfinals he has contested. This time, the Sydneysider hopes to go one step further. He hit 32 winners, saved the only break point he faced and outpointed the 113th-ranked McDonald 93-64. It was the ninth straight loss at a major for McDonald, who has not won a main-draw match at a Grand Slam since reaching the second round at the US Open in 2023.

“It feels great to get started here at the Australian Open,” de Minaur said in his post-match news conference. “Happy with the performance. It’s never easy first match coming in. It was a tricky opponent, and I navigated my way through and did what I needed to do. Yeah, overall happy with the performance and ready for the next challenge.”

Next, de Minaur will play No. 90 Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia, who fought past No. 79 Mariano Navone of Argentina, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2.

• After winning his 22nd ATP Tour singles title at Brisbane earlier this month, three-time AO finalist Daniil Medvedev of Russia is off to a good start in 2026. The former World No. 1 improved to 6-0 this season after defeating Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands, 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (2) in two hours and 52 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

The 11th-seeded Medvedev hit 47 winners and converted seven of 13 break points. He outpointed the 73rd-ranked de Jong 125-103.

“Today was not easy. First match, different tournament, a Grand Slam,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “Last year, I lost almost [each major] in the first round, except here actually, so I’m happy to win in straight sets, even if some of them were up and down. The conditions felt slow, so we were both breaking each other’s serve a lot. The most important [thing] is to win and hopefully I can play better next round.”

Next, the World No. 12 Medvedev will play No. 83 Quentin Halys of France, who defeated No. 79 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (2).

• No. 7 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada retired against 46th-ranked Nuno Borges of Portugal, trailing two-sets-to-one due a left hamstring injury after two hours and nine minutes on John Cain Arena. After winning the opening set 6-3, Auger-Aliassime lost the second and third sets to Borges by identical 6-4, 6-4 scores.

“I feel for him,” Borges said in his on-court interview. “I know how it feels to struggle physically. It is part of tennis. It’s a really long schedule. It’s really hard to stay on top of our game and physically it is very demanding. I can totally understand. I hope he gets better quick and back to his best level.”

During his post-match news conference, Auger-Aliassime said: “I’m okay, but I just started cramping at the start of the third set. It became very difficult to be competitive at this level. I tried for a set, but yeah, wasn’t possible today.” 

• World No. 13 Casper Ruud advanced to the second round with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 76 Mattia Bellucci of Italy in one hour and 40 minutes on Margaret Court Arena in back of 10 aces and 32 winners. 

“It was a perfect start to this tournament and this court is probably one of my favorites in the world,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It’s a really good atmosphere and a great way to kick off. I’m excited to be back here in a couple of days. I have to thank Maria for letting me [come] in the first place. I know she’s back home resting, getting ready.”

The 27-year-old 12th seed from Norway, who is expecting a daughter with his wife any day, next will face No. 39 Jaume Munar of Spain, who needed five sets and four hours and 27 minutes – longest match of the day and of the tournament – to defeat No. 95 Dalibor Svrcina of Czechia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3.

• Among the other men’s seeds advancing were: No. 13 Andrey Rublev of Russia; No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain; No. 19 Tommy Paul of the United States; No. 21 Denis Shapovalov of Canada; No. 25 Learner Tien of the United States, and No. 30 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco.

• Among the men’s seeds upset were: No. 24 Arthur Rinderknech of France, and No. 27 Brandon Nakashima of the United States.

• Among the other women’s seeds advancing were: No. 4 Amanda Anisimova of the United States, runner-up at the last two majors; No. 6 Jessica Pegula of the United States; No. 8 Mirra Andreeva of Russia; No. 13 Linda Noskova of Czechia; No. 14 Clara Tauson of Denmark; No. 17 Victoria Mboko of Canada; No. 19 Karolina Muchova of Czechia; No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium; No. 23 Diana Shnaider of Russia; No. 25 Paula Badosa of Spain and No. 29 Iva Jovic of the United States. 

• Among the women’s seeds upset were: No. 15 Emma Navarro of the United States, who lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to No. 50 Magda Linette of Poland; and No. 27 Sofia Kenin of the United States, the 2020 AO champion, who suffered her fifth consecutive first-round exit at Melbourne Park after losing to fellow American and No. 68 Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-2.

Monday’s Australian Open results

Tuesday’s Australian Open order of play

A total of 101,696 fans came out for First Monday at this year’s Australian Open – a first Monday Day/Night total attendance record eclipsing the previous mark of 95,290 set at last year’s Australian Open.

There were 68,687 fans during the first Monday day session, which bettered last year’s record of 59,621. A total 33,009 showed for Monday’s night session.

“Quotable …”

“Unfortunately, I injured my ankle during my match today, and after further tests, torn ligaments were confirmed, which means I won’t be able to continue at the Australian Open in doubles with my amazing partner Gabriela Ruse. The Australian Open has always been one of my favorite tournaments, so this isn’t how I imagined my ending. But that’s part of the sport.”

– No. 20 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, writing on Instagram Sunday evening. Kostyuk lost her first round match to Elsa Jacquemot of France, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10-7), in three hours and 31 minutes.

 

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