Stat of the Day: Novak Djokovic records 250th clay-court win of career in Rome

Novak Djokovic has been one of the most dominant players in the Open Era on hard courts and grass—he’s won nine Australian Opens, six Wimbledons and three US Opens—but the two-time Roland Garros champion has been right up there on clay, too, and on Thursday in Rome he reached a big milestone on the surface.

With his 6-2, 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka in the Italian capital, Djokovic recorded the 250th win of his career on clay. He’s the second active man to reach that milestone, and just the 31st man in the entire Open Era to do it.

MOST CAREER WINS ON CLAY (active men):
467: Rafael Nadal (467-45)
250: Novak Djokovic (250-62)
236: Fernando Verdasco (236-156)
226: Roger Federer (226-71)
226: Fabio Fognini (226-161)

And there’s more: Djokovic has still never lost before the quarterfinals in Rome.

This is his 16th career appearance at this event and he’s reached the quarterfinals or better every single time, winning the title five times (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2020), reaching another six finals (2009, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021), one more semifinal (2018) and now four more quarterfinals, including this year (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2022).

If he wins his quarterfinal against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday, he’ll also secure his stay at No. 1 for what would be his 370th career week at the top spot on Monday.