Novak Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam titles. Here is a look at each one

NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title by beating Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open final on Sunday.

That added to Djokovic's record for the most major singles tennis championships won by a man — Rafael Nadal is next with 22; Roger Federer, who announced his retirement last year, has 20 — and broke a tie with Serena Williams for the most in the Open era, which began in 1968.

Like Djokovic, Margaret Court won a total of 24, but some of hers were earned during the sport's amateur era.

Here is a look at each of Djokovic's major championships so far — 10 at the Australian Open, seven at Wimbledon, four at the U.S. Open and three at the French Open — starting with the first:

Final: Beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2)

What He Did: Eliminated Roger Federer in the semifinals, then didn't face a break point in the second or third sets against Tsonga, before saving one in the fourth.

What He Said: "I'm very, very happy that I won my first Grand Slam here, so hopefully we'll see you here on this stage a lot more often."

Final: Beat Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3

What He Did: Broke to end the first set with the help of a 38-stroke point exchange. Before the tournament, his rivals' Grand Slam counts looked like this: Federer with 16, Nadal with nine.

What He Said: "I don't want to fly up to the sky and say, ‘I am the best,' or whatever. I cannot compare to Rafa and Roger's success."

Final: Beat Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3

What He Did: Became the first player other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Slam final, and replaced Nadal at No. 1 in the rankings.

What He Said: "This is what I'm made for: I want to win. I'm a professional. I want to win more majors, more titles. Obviously, the U.S. Open is the next big thing."

Final: Beat Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1

What He Did: Overcame a two-set deficit, then two match points, to eliminate Federer in the semifinals, then defeated Nadal across 4 hours, 10 minutes in the final. That made Djokovic 10-1 against those two opponents that season.

What He Said: "There is a lot more to prove, a lot more tournaments to win."

Final:

What He Did: Came out on top in a 5-hour, 53-minute marathon that was so exhausting, both men were given chairs to sit in during the trophy ceremony.

What He Said: "I tried mentally to hang in there, to hold my composure, to hold my emotions."

Final:

What He Did: Became the first man with three consecutive Australian Open titles in the Open era.

What He Said: "I have no reason not to be confident in myself."

Final:

What He Did: Denied Federer what would have been a record eighth championship at the All England Club.

What He Said: "I managed to not just win against my opponent, but win against myself, as well, and find that inner strength."

Final:

What He Did: Rebounded from a quarterfinal exit the year before in Melbourne Park.

What He Said: "It was a cat-and-mouse fight. It always is with us."

Final:

What He Did: Managed four breaks against Federer, who had won 89 of 90 service games in the tournament entering the final.

What He Said: "There is always something I can work on, and I know I can get my game to a higher level."

Final: Beat Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

What He Did: Saved 19 of 23 break points.

What He Said: "We pushed each other to the limit, as we always do."

Final:

What He Did: Equaled Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg for fifth on the men's Grand Slam title list.

What He Said: "I never experienced this much crowd and this much love."

Final: Beat Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

What He Did: Complete a career Grand Slam and became the first man since Laver in 1969 to win four consecutive major titles.

What He Said: "It's really a very special moment. Perhaps the greatest moment of my career."

Final:

What He Did: Won his first major championship since surgery on his right elbow.

What He Said: "It was a long journey. I couldn't pick a better place, to be honest, in the tennis world to peak and to make a comeback."

Final:

What He Did: Pulled even with his idol, Pete Sampras, at 14 major titles.

What He Said: "Maybe 10 years ago, I would say I'm not so happy to be part of this era with Nadal and Federer. Actually, today I am. I really am. I feel like these guys ... have made me the player I am."

Final: Beat Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3

What He Did: Thoroughly dominated Nadal, compiling 34 winners and making just nine unforced errors.

What He Said: "Under the circumstances, it was truly a perfect match."

Final:

What He Did: Saved two championship points at 8-7 in the fifth set, then won the first Wimbledon final to go to a fifth-set tiebreaker.

What He Said: "Unfortunately in these kinds of matches, one of the players has to lose. It's quite unreal."

Final: Beat Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4

What He Did: Dizzy from dehydration, used serve-and-volley to erase a pair of break points, one in the fourth set and another in the fifth.

What He Said: "I was on the brink of losing the match."

Final: Beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2

What He Did: Tore an abdominal muscle in the third round, dropped five sets on the way to the final — his most en route to a Slam title match — and then ended Medvedev's 20-match winning streak.

What He Said: "Most of my attention and my energy from this day forward, until I retire from tennis, is going to be directed (at) majors, trying to win more major trophies."

Final:

What He Did: Eliminated Nadal in the semifinals — becoming the only man to defeat Nadal twice at Roland Garros — then erased a two-set deficit in the final.

What He Said: "I've achieved some things that a lot of people thought it would be not possible for me to achieve."

Final:

What He Did: Pulled even with Federer and Nadal with 20 major titles.

What He Said: "I consider myself best, and I believe that I am the best, otherwise I wouldn't be talking confidently about winning Slams and making history. But whether I'm the greatest of all time or not, I leave that debate to other people."

Final:

What He Did: Over the last two sets, accumulated 31 winners, made only eight unforced errors and faced zero break points.

What He Said: "The more you win, it's logical the more confident, the more comfortable you feel out there every next time you step out on the court."

Final:

What He Did: A year after being deported from Australia because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic overcame a bad hamstring and off-court hubbub involving his father.

What He Said: "This probably is the, I would say, biggest victory of my life."

Final:

What He Did: Djokovic broke his tie with Nadal at 22 majors and became the first man to have won at least three titles at each Slam event.

What He Said: "It's not a coincidence that I won the 23rd Grand Slam here in Paris, because this tournament was the hardest one for me to win every day of my career."

Final:

What He Did: At age 36, Djokovic became the oldest man to win the U.S. Open. He dropped only two sets in the tournament — both when falling behind Laslo Djere by two sets to none before coming back to win in the third round.

What He Said: "I never imagined that I would be here standing with you, talking about 24 Slams. I never thought that that would be the reality."

___

Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002.

___

AP tennis coverage:

https://apnews.com/hub/tennis