Novak Djokovic joined tennis’ elite group of Grand Slam winners after winning the 2008 Australian Open.
The first of the Serbian 24 majors came at Melbourne Park 16 years ago and it would not take long before he became a dominant force in the men’s game.
In the 2000s there was no player who had a hold over the men’s game quite like Roger Federer, who won the majority of his Grand Slam during this decade.
But as the decade came to an end, the likes of Djokovic and of course Rafael Nadal started to make more of an impression, Federer began to find life on tour more challenging.
What did Novak Djokovic say about Roger Federer’s dominance after the 2008 Australian Open?
Novak Djokovic defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to win the 2008 Australian Open.
But to reach the final, he had to defeat the Swiss Maestro in the semi-finals, which he did by claiming a 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory. This was Federer’s first Grand Slam loss since the 2007 French Open final to Nadal.
After claiming his first Grand Slam title and beating Federer, Djokovic was asked if his dominance in the game was over, and Djokovic’s answer was emphatic.
“No, I don’t think so, no. I mean, it’s not possible that only one tournament is changing the history. Of course, I mean, I played amazing tennis here, so I think I absolutely deserved to win, even against him in the semifinals.
“You know, he accepted in the right way. Sure, he’s gonna come back in a big style, of course. He’s still planning to be the best player in the world, so we all know how good he is. We gonna see a lot of him, of course, this year.”