SABALENKA SNAGS DJOKOVIC’S SLAM TIEBREAK CROWN

Aryna Sabalenka continued her remarkable run at the 2026 Australian Open, not only powering into the quarter-finals but also rewriting a piece of tennis history by eclipsing a long-standing Novak Djokovic record.

The world No. 1 defeated Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) on Rod Laver Arena, sealing her 20th straight Grand Slam tiebreak win, one more than Djokovic’s previous Open Era mark of 19.

Sabalenka’s achievement comes amid a dominant stretch at majors. She’s reached her 13th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final and remains unbeaten in this year’s Australian Open so far.

Her fierce performance in tiebreaks, where she’s combined consistency, power and mental grit, has turned this statistic into one of the standout stories of the tournament.

Novak Djokovic, the man whose record she surpassed, took the news with characteristic humour. Posting on X, shortly after Sabalenka’s win, the 24-time major winner wrote, “I’m upset right now,” accompanied by a playful angry emoji showing he wasn’t genuinely aggrieved, but certainly noticed the shift atop the tiebreak leaderboard.

Sabalenka, who’s yet to drop a set in the tournament, now prepares to face another rising star, 18-year-old American Iva Jovic.

Image credit: The South African