Stat of the Year, No. 1: Novak Djokovic has now won a third of the Grand Slams he’s ever played

All week we’ve been counting down our top five stats of the year, from Barbora Krejcikova pulling off a historic Top 3 sweep in Dubai to Coco Gauff becoming the first U.S. teenager to win the US Open this century, and Carlos Alcaraz ending the Big 4’s 21-year reign at Wimbledon to Iga Swiatek improving to 4-0 in Grand Slam finals.

Today we finally arrive at No. 1—and it’s a doozy.

From breaking Grand Slam records to hitting new No. 1 ranking milestones and more, Novak Djokovic gave us G.O.A.T. stat after G.O.A.T. stat this year. But there was one stat in particular that he achieved in 2023 that could be more mindblowing than the rest.

By winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open this year, Djokovic has now won exactly a third of the Grand Slams he’s played in his career—24 of 72. He’s also reached the final of exactly half of the Grand Slams he’s played in his career—36 of 72.

To put in perspective just how incredible that is, remember that every single one of those draws began with 128 players. So to be the last man standing out of 128 a third of the time—and to be at least one of the last two men standing half the time—is just ridiculous.

DJOKOVIC MAJOR RESULTS BY ROUND REACHED:

• Won 24 of 72 majors played (33.3%)
• Reached final in 36 of 72 majors played (50.0%)
• Reached semifinals in 47 of 72 majors played (65.3%)
• Reached quarterfinals in 57 of 72 majors played (79.2%)

By contrast, the other two members of the Big 3—Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer—have won 32.8% (22 of 67) and 24.7% (20 of 81) of the Grand Slams they've ever played, respectively.

And there's more.

Djokovic has won 23 of the 48 majors he’s played since the start of 2011. That’s almost half of the majors he’s played in the last 13 years.

He's also won seven of the 10 he's played since the start of 2021.

And that's it for our Top 5 Stats of the Year for 2023. See you in 2024!