Photo: Kuberzog via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped.
Novak Djokovic has played a record 430th Grand Slam singles match, breaking his tie with Roger Federer. He beat Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
The win takes the 37-year-old to 379-51 at the majors, a winning percentage of .881. Federer went 369-60 across his 429 Slam matches, according to NBC Sports.
It wasn't easy. Faria, ranked 125th and making his Grand Slam debut, took the second set on a tie-break before Djokovic pulled clear. This is his first tournament with Andy Murray as his coach, and he is chasing a 25th major title and a 100th tour-level trophy.
Grand Slams, of course, they are the pillars of our sport. They mean everything for the history of the sport. … Definitely the most important tournaments. I'm just blessed to be making another record, I guess, today.
Djokovic famously cut gluten out of his diet in 2010 and later settled on a plant-based diet, although he has said he eats a little fish now and then (Wikipedia cites a 2016 Wall Street Journal interview). He has made it clear that it is about more than winning matches. "It's a lifestyle more than just a diet because you have ethical reasons as well, being conscious of what is happening in the animal world," he said at the 2020 Australian Open, reported by VegNews. "Hopefully, I can inspire other athletes that it is possible to be plant-based."
Djokovic has rewritten the record books on plants. He saved two championship points to beat Federer in the longest Wimbledon final, won a 24th Grand Slam at 36 and last summer won Olympic gold at 37 to complete the Golden Slam.
No meat, no problem.