Novak Djokovic has equaled
Rafael Nadal and
Ivan Lendl's record for the third most ATP match wins in the Open Era following his semi-final victory at the
Cincinnati Open.
23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has been on form this week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio. So far, he has defeated former world No. 6 Gael Monfils, ninth seed Taylor Fritz and sixteenth seed Alexander Zverev without dropping a single set.
Moreover, by winning his semi-final match against Zverev, Djokovic has reached the milestone of equaling Nadal and Lendl's ATP match-win record of 1,068, the third-most in the Open Era.
Djokovic on potential track to break more records
As Djokovic heads into the final of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, where he will face world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, he will have the chance to break Nadal and Lendl's record.
Indeed, even if he doesn't manage it at this tournament, it is incredibly likely that he will move at least quite a way beyond it.
This is not only because Djokovic is one of the most successful players in the sport's history, but also because he is the only active player out of the three, with Nadal out for the rest of the season due to injury and Lendl having retired in 1994.
The two men ahead of Djokovic are
Roger Federer, who has 1,251 wins, and
Jimmy Connors, who has 1,274. As both these players are also retired, there is a chance Djokovic could also equal and break their records, but this will take more time.
