Novak Djokovic moves ahead of Roger Federer with 15 hard Grand Slam finals

Back in 1978, the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows hosted the first edition of the US Open on the hard court, becoming the first Major tournament staged on a non-natural surface. The Australian Open joined the party in 1988 when the event moved from historical but outdated Kooyong to the brand-new Flinders Park, switching from grass to hard courts that became the dominant surface in the realm of the Major tournaments.

Throughout the last 40 years, seven players have managed to play in more than six Grand Slam finals on hard court, including four most authoritative figures in mens tennis in the last 15 years, with two of them pushing the limits and standing far in front of all the others.

Andy Murray was the finalist in Melbourne and New York on seven occasions but he won just one trophy, always facing the toughest possible rivals and finishing runner-up at Melbourne Park five times. Rafael Nadal has been on fire so far in Melbourne this year, entering his fifth Australian Open final and the ninth overall on hard court, trailing one behind Andre Agassi who fought for hard-court Grand Slam crown ten times.

Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl have both reached the final on the most common surface 11 times and there are only two special names left to mention, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Widely considered as the greatest players on the cement surface, Roger and Novak have achieved numerous records on hard, sharing 20 Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and New York (11 for Roger, nine for Novak) and entering the Australian Open with both reaching 14 finals.

That all changed in the last two weeks at Melbourne Park and Novak is now the leader of the pack, becoming the first player in history with 15 Grand Slam final appearances on a single surface! Back in 2007, Novak played his first Grand Slam final in New York, losing to Federer before going all the way in Melbourne next January when he won the maiden Grand Slam crown.

Djokovic was in the title match in seven straight hard-court Majors between 2010-13, bouncing back in 2015 and 2016 before starting a new run last September in New York, passing Federer after his win over Lucas Pouille in the semi-final in Melbourne on Friday.

Djokovic had won at least six matches in both Melbourne and New York in five different seasons and he is for sure capable of seeking 20 Grand Slam finals on hard courts considering his dominance on that surface and his current form and motivation to chase every important record before the end of a career.

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