Aus Open 2016: Everything you need to know about Novak Djokovic ahead of Sunday’s final

Novak Djokovic defeated Nadal in the final of the U.S. Open to become just the seventh man to win three grand slam titles in a year .(Source:AP)

Born: Belgrade, May 22, 1987 (28)

Seeding: 1

GRAND SLAM TITLES (10): Australian Open: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015; Wimbledon: 2011, 2014, 2015; U.S. Open: 2011, 2015

BACKGROUND

Began playing tennis aged four. His father was a professional skier and wanted his son to be a skier or professional soccer player but changed his mind when Djokovic excelled at tennis from an early age.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER:

# Had first full year on tour in 2005 and finished the season as the youngest player (18 years, five months) inside the top 100.

# Won his first ATP tour title the following year at Amersfoort, followed that with second title indoors at Metz.

# Made it to the 2006 French Open quarter-finals and the Wimbledon semi-final but retired in both matches against Rafa Nadal.

# Won five titles (Adelaide, Miami, Estoril, Montreal and Vienna), in 2007 and made his first grand slam final at the U.S. Open, losing to Roger Federer.

# Broke the Federer-Nadal grand slam duopoly by beating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win his maiden major title at Melbourne Park in 2008.

# Failed to defend his title in Melbourne the following year after controversially pulling out of his quarter-final against American Andy Roddick, citing heat exhaustion on a sweltering day.

# Led Serbia to their first Davis Cup title in 2010 with victory over France in Belgrade.

# Won his second Australian Open in 2011, beating Murray in the final.

# Won his next six tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, Belgrade, Madrid and Rome before Federer ended his 41-match winning streak in the French Open semi-finals.

# Secured the number one spot on July 4 by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon semi-finals, then beat Nadal to clinch his first Wimbledon crown, his first title on grass.

# Won a record fifth Masters title in a season with victory in Toronto, one of the lead-up events to the U.S. Open.

# Defeated Nadal in the final of the U.S. Open to become just the seventh man to win three grand slam titles in a year since tennis turned professional in 1968.

# Won his third Australian Open title in 2012, and fifth overall when he beat Nadal in a grand slam final record five hours and 53 minutes.

# Retained his Australian Open crown in 2013 with another win over Murray to become the first man in the professional era to win three successive Australian Open titles.

# Defeated Federer for the 2014 Wimbledon title, his seventh grand slam.

# Clinched his fifth Australian Open title with another victory over Murray, which sparked an impressive year when he won 11 titles in total which included his third Wimbledon crown and second U.S. Open, defeating Federer in both finals.

PATH TO THE FINAL (prefix denotes seeding) 1st round bt Chung Hyeon (South Korea) 6-3 6-2 6-4 2nd round bt Quentin Halys (France) 6-1 6-1 7-6(3) 3rd round bt 28-Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-1 7-5 7-6(6) 4th round bt 14-Gilles Simon (France) 6-3 6-7(1) 6-4 4-6 6-3 QF bt 7-Kei Nishikori (Japan) 6-3 6-2 6-4 SF bt Roger Federer (Switzerland) 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3