Why Djokovic's Brisbane loss is not cause for Australian Open concern

Novak Djokovic suffered a surprising quarter-final loss on Friday to Reilly Opelka at the Brisbane International presented by Evie. History shows that the defeat is not cause for concern leading into the Australian Open.

Djokovic has won the season’s first major a record 10 times in his career. However, in the leadup to those memorable triumphs, the Serbian claimed a title only three times, and one of them was in a team competition, at the 2020 United Cup.

The 37-year-old has enjoyed many different levels of success before arriving in Melbourne, and it has never seemed to deter him with a major trophy on the line.

Djokovic's Australian Open titles - results from event prior

In some cases — nine to be exact — Djokovic has not competed at all ahead of the Australian Open. He captured the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup on four of those occasions, in 2008 and each year from 2011-2013.

Four years, in 2015-17 and in 2019, Djokovic played in Doha before making the trip across the ocean. Twice he won the title in Doha, in 2016 and 2017. But while he triumphed in the first of those years, he lost in the second round of the Australian Open the next.

This is the fifth consecutive season Djokovic has started in Australia with a pre-Melbourne tournament. Three times he played a teams competition, but this year the Serbian opened in Brisbane, where Djokovic fell to the big-serving Opelka.

The last time Djokovic fell in the quarter-finals of an individual knockout tournament before a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2023 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. His result at Roland Garros? A Coupe des Mousquetaires with the loss of just two sets across the fortnight.

Although Djokovic and his fans missed an opportunity to celebrate his 100th tour-level title in Brisbane, the numbers show that regardless of his performance ahead of a major, the 99-time tour-level champion has found ways to produce his best tennis at the ensuing Slam.

Djokovic is 94-9 with a record 10 titles at Melbourne Park, a jaw-dropping record he will try to improve later this month.