Novak Djokovic is the most decorated man in tennis history, a Serbian born in Belgrade in May 1987 who learned the game on a makeshift court during the war years and turned pro in 2003. He won his first ATP title at 19 and broke through at the 2008 Australian Open, the first major in years to slip the Federer–Nadal hold and the formal arrival of the Big Three's third pillar.
His game has never been about raw power. It runs on the return — arguably the best the sport has produced — paired with elastic baseline defense, a backhand he hits flat and down the line off both wings, and a flexibility that turns full-stretch retrievals into counter-offense. He absorbs pace and redirects it, breaks down opponents over five sets, and rarely loses the geometry of a rally. The serve has always been the underrated piece: a reliable hold that frees the return game to do the damage.
The résumé is the men's record book. Twenty-four major titles, a record number of weeks at No. 1, and the only man to win each of the four slams at least three times. He holds a winning edge in his career rivalries with the field that defined his era and chased Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal across two decades; the next generation — Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev — now inherits the chase. He has lifted the trophy at every Masters-level event he's entered, including a deep history at the Italian Open and Paris Masters.
At 39 and ranked No. 7, Djokovic enters 2026 still hunting a 25th major. He's no longer the week-in favorite, but the floor remains a deep run at any slam — and a draw nobody wants. The hunt for No. 25 is the only number left that matters to him.