The Serbian has won more singles titles at the tournament than any other player in the Open Era, and there have been suggestions that Djokovic could get a statue at the Australian Open.

Out of his 109 matches at the Australian Open, Djokovic has only lost 10 of them.

Djokovic retired against Alexander Zverev with a hamstring injury, in what is his most recent loss at the Australian Open.

There were concerns about how serious this injury was, but now Djokovic has been handed some positive news.

Another of Djokovic’s few Australian Open losses came in 2017, where he suffered one of his earliest ever Grand Slam exits.

Andre Agassi backs Novak Djokovic to bounce back after Australian Open loss in 2017

Djokovic headed into the 2017 Australian Open good form, having beaten world number one Andy Murray to defend his title in Doha in the lead up.

However, this did not carry on into the Australian Open, as Djokovic suffered a shock second round defeat to world number 117 Denis Istomin.

This was Djokovic’s worst Australian Open performance since 2006, and to this day remains the only time that he has lost to a player ranked outside the top 100 at a Grand Slam tournament.

Following the shock exit of Djokovic, former world number one Andre Agassi was asked for his reaction in a remote press conference and explained that he thought it was only a blip in the road for the Serbian.

“I of course saw the result, and I followed the results,” said Agassi. “I have been traveling to Sweden and India for the last four days, a whirlwind trip for me. Reading that was obviously as much of a surprise to me than anybody, maybe even more so.

“I have celebrated Novak’s accomplishments to the point of predicting he’s going to win everything. The truth is, it’s always a surprise when he loses, especially someplace there.

“I can’t speak to how much the match was earned or how much the match was lost. What I can speak to you is Novak’s game, his abilities. And there is no reason in the world why it can’t turn around as fast as it seemed to have left him.

“We all have our own unique journey. You guys had to see me hit rock bottom over the course of two years. I assure you, Novak won’t need to learn as hard, in as hard of a way as I had to learn, but he still has time.

“He’s a heck of an athlete. In my opinion, one of the greats of all time. I give him high, high chance of coming back in a hurry.”

Just four months later, Agassi would join Djokovic’s team to become his coach after an uncharacteristic run of poor form.

While they were only able to win one title in their eight months together, Djokovic underwent elbow surgery in February 2018 and was able to return with avengence.

Novak Djokovic’s performances at the Australian Open since 2017

Djokovic is often proving people wrong, but on this occasion he was able to prove Agassi right.

In his seven appearances at the Australian Open since that shock loss in 2017, Djokovic has won the title four times.

This includes winning three consecutive titles following elbow surgery between 2019 and 2021, with his most recent victory coming at the 2023 Australian Open after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

However, the last two years have seen a new name on the Norman Brooke Challenge Cup, with Jannik Sinner defending his Australian Open title in 2024.

Not only did he return to dominance at the Australian Open after his loss in 2017, but Djokovic has also won half of his Grand Slam titles since Agassi made that prediction.

Djokovic now has 24 majors, which is more than anyone else in the Open Era, with his most recent victory coming at the 2023 US Open.

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