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**How it happened: A set-by-by breakdown of Djokovic's five-set win over Thiem

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17 Slams, 17 Stats: Numeric takeaways from Nole's victory**
Flink: Thiem made his move in Australian Open final, but Djokovic held steady

Novak Djokovic kept rewriting history at the Australian Open, capping his title run with a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Dominic Thiem on Sunday night.

To commemorate his 17th Grand Slam singles title, here are 17 achievements as a result of his latest victory at Melbourne Park.

1. He won his eighth Australian Open. Djokovic already set the all-time men’s record for most Australian Open titles when he won his seventh last year, but he’s now upped that mark to eight.

2. He won his 17th Grand Slam title. In addition to his eight Australian Open titles in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020, Djokovic also has one French Open crown (2016), five Wimbledons (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) and three US Opens (2011, 2015 and 2018).

3. He’s now three Grand Slams behind Roger Federer, and two behind Rafael Nadal. Djokovic was within two of Nadal as recently as 2019, but he hasn’t been within three of Federer since 2004, when Federer had three and Djokovic was just starting to play on the tour.

4. He’s back at No. 1. With Nadal losing to Thiem in the quarterfinals, Djokovic is back on top of the ATP rankings. This week will be his 276th career week at No.1.

Novak Djokovic: 17 stats in celebration of his 17th Grand Slam title

Novak Djokovic: 17 stats in celebration of his 17th Grand Slam title

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5. He’s now won five of the last seven Grand Slams. Djokovic won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018, the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2019, and now the Australian Open in 2020.

6. He’s won 43 of his last 45 matches at Grand Slams. His only losses at the majors in the last 19 months have come against Thiem in the semifinals of the 2019 French Open, and to Stan Wawrinka in the fourth round of the 2019 US Open (Djokovic retired down two sets against the Swiss due to a left shoulder injury).

7. He’s the third man in tennis history to win eight or more titles at the same major. The other two are Nadal, who’s won Roland Garros 12 times, and Federer, who’s won Wimbledon eight times.

8. He’s now 8-0 in Australian Open finals. He’s not only undefeated in finals in Melbourne; he’s also 8-0 in semifinals. To sum it up: every time he’s gotten past the quarterfinals in Melbourne, he’s gone on to win the title.

9. He’s won nine of his last 10 Grand Slam finals. At one point 8-8, Djokovic is now 17-9 in Grand Slam finals. He’s 9-1 in his last 10, the loss coming to Wawrinka in the 2016 US Open final.

10. He’s the first man in the Open era to win majors in three different decades. He’s won one in the 2000s, 15 in the 2010s and now one in the 2020s. Only one other man has won majors in three decades, and he did it across Open era and pre-Open era: Ken Rosewall, in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

11. He came back from two sets to one down to win a major final for the first time. He’s the first man to achieve the feat since Juan Martin del Potro did it against Federer in the 2009 US Open final.

12. He turned the tide on a troublesome head-to-head record. Djokovic went into the final with a 6-4 lead over Thiem, but that head-to-head was originally 5-0. Thiem had won four of their last five meetings going into the Australian Open final, including their last two meetings at majors.

Novak Djokovic: 17 stats in celebration of his 17th Grand Slam title

Novak Djokovic: 17 stats in celebration of his 17th Grand Slam title

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13. He’s now 13-0 in 2020. That includes his 6-0 record at the ATP Cup and seven wins in Melbourne. It’s his fourth-longest unbeaten streak to start a year in his career, after going 14-0 to start 2016, 17-0 to start 2013 and—wait for it—41-0 to start 2011. How long will his perfect 2019 start last?

14. He passed John McEnroe with the fifth-most career ATP titles in the Open Era. The 2020 Australian Open title was Djokovic’s 78th career ATP title, passing McEnroe for standalone fifth place. The Serb only trails Jimmy Connors (109), Federer (103), Ivan Lendl (95) and Nadal (84).

15. He kept the Big Three’s winning streak at the majors alive. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have now combined to win the last 13 majors, sweeping them all since the start of 2017. They’ve now won 52 of the last 60 majors, a stretch that began with Nadal’s victory at the 2005 French Open.

16. He kept the Big Three in 58 of the last 60 major finals. Since the 2005 French Open, the only two majors that didn’t feature any of Djokovic, Nadal or Federer were the 2014 US Open final (Marin Cilic against Kei Nishikori) and the 2016 Wimbledon final (Andy Murray against Milos Raonic).

17. He’s chasing the record for most career weeks at No. 1. Djokovic is in third place on the list for most career weeks at No. 1 on the ATP rankings, and he’s closing in fast on the two men ahead of him. He’s just 10 weeks away from Pete Sampras’ 286, and 34 weeks away from Federer’s 310.