When you think of Australian Open tennis legends, one man should come to mind: Novak Djokovic. Before he was in consideration for the greatest player in the history of the sport, Djokovic earned some respect as an underdog in Australia.

Tennis fans shouldn’t be surprised to see Djokovic at No. 1 on our list of the top 10 greatest champions in Australian Open history. See which other players deserve to be considered among the greatest Australian Open tennis players of all time.

Who won the Australian Open men’s final in 2023?

The winner of the 2023 Australian Open Men’s final was Novak Djokovic. The Serbian tennis star defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) to win his 10th title.

Australian Open Tennis Champions History

The first men’s Australian Open champion was Rodney Heath back in 1905. The oldest Australian Open men’s winner was Ken Rosewall at age 37 in 1971. The youngest Australian Open men’s winner was also Rosewall at ag 19 in 1953.

A complete list of Australian Open winners can be found here. .

Who has won the most Australian Open tennis men’s singles titles?

Novak Djokovic has won the most men’s Australian Open titles with 10 championships.

Ranking the Top 10 Greatest Men’s Singles Winners in Australian Open Tennis History

10. Andy Murray

Australian Open Champion: Never won

Australian Open Finalist: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016

Who has the most Australian Open finals appearances without winning a men’s single title? The answer to that trivia question is former Scottish tennis legend Andy Murray, who remarkably made it to the last hurdle on five occasions without winning.

Despite making it to the fifth-most Australian Open finals of any men’s player in the modern era, Murray never even won two sets in a championship match. His most common foe was Serbian star Novak Djokovic, who beat Murray three times in four years (2013, 2015, 2016).

Murray won two fantastic, five-set matches at the 2023 Australian Open before falling in the third round.

9. Rafael Nadal

Australian Open Champion: 2009, 2022

Other Australian Open Finals: 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019

The first Australian Open winner on this list is former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who has one of the largest gaps between his two wins of any man in the tournament’s history. The Spaniard reached the finals on six occasions, and his championships came in both his first and last tournament appearances (2009, 2022).

Four of Nadal’s six finals were grueling five-set affairs, so his ability to stay in shape for all those five-set matches during each year’s prior winter is a real testament to Nadal’s fitness.

His epic five-set win over Danil Medvedev in 2022 left him exhausted, as he explained after the match:

“I give it everything that I have inside, believe me. I am super, super-tired in all ways. I even can’t celebrate. But was the day to give everything, no? I enjoyed. I enjoyed the fight. I enjoyed the emotions. At the end to have this trophy with me means everything today, no?”

8. Jack Crawford

Australian Open Champion: 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935

Other Australian Open Finals: 1934, 1936, 1940

One of the best early men’s tennis Australian Open winners was an Aussie himself -- Jack Crawford. Crawford was one of the greatest players of the amateur era, and the former world No. 1 was just a U.S. Open title short of a career Grand Slam. In fact, a win in the 1933 U.S. Open final would have given him an uber-rare season slam.

Crawford reached six straight Australian finals from 1931 to 1936, winning four of them. He was also a four-time winner of the Australian Open’s men’s doubles tournament.

7. Rod Laver

Australian Open Champion: 1960, 1962, 1969

Other Australian Open Finals: 1961

Former Australian tennis star Rod Laver used the momentum of two of his Australian Open wins on home soil (1962 and 1969) to complete in-season Grand Slams -- as Laver went on to win all four major titles in the same year. The former world No. 1 is one of his nation’s most famous players of all time.

Laver holds two Australian Open milestones. He won the first ever post-1968 “Open Era” version of the competition when he defeated Andre Gimeno in 1969. He also staged one of the tournament’s first-ever comebacks from a two-set deficit when he beat Neal Fraser 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6 in 1960.

6. Ken Rosewall

Australian Open Champion: 1953, 1955, 1971, 1972

Other Australian Open Finals: 1956

The next Australian Open tennis champion from the host country on our list is Ken Rosewall. The dominant Aussie was known for a few things:

• His dominant 1971 showing: Rosewall became the first man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam event without dropping a set when he clinched the 1971 Australian Open crown.
  
• Longevity: Rosewall won his first title in 1953 and his last in 1972. He was still making the Australian Open semifinals in 1977 at the ripe age of 42.

5. Mats Wilander

Australian Open Champion:  1983, 1984, 1988

Other Australian Open Finals: 1985

Former Swedish world No. 1 Mats Wilander is the only man to win the Australian Open on both grass and hard courts, after the tournament switched to the latter in 1988.

Wilander also came within one finals victory (a match he lost to fellow Swede Stefan Edberg in 1985, no less) of a rare Australian Open three-peat. He would finally clinch his third championship in 1988 after outlasting Edberg in a five-set in the semifinal and Pat Cash in a five-set championship match that included a dramatic 8-6 victory in the final set.

4. Andre Agassi

Australian Open Champion: 1995, 2000 2001, 2003

Former U.S. tennis star Andre Agassi had a perfect 4-0 record in Australian Open finals, defeating a different opponent each time and never letting any of those matches go to a fifth set.

A rare player who got better with age, Agassi dominated the Australian Open into his 30s during the early 2000s. He missed the 2002 finals with an injury but came back and won in 2003 – beating Germany’s Rainer Schuttler in the final to give him three championships in four years.

“As you get older you realize so quickly how these moments pass … to win one down here again was just more than I could dream of,” Agassi said.

3. Roy Emerson

Australian Open Champion: 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967

Other Australian Open Finals: 1962

Former Australian star Roy Emerson went on arguably the greatest run of all Australian Open men’s winners. Were it not for a championship-match loss to Rod Laver in 1962, Emerson would have had a stunning seven straight Australian Open titles. Unfortunately, that loss meant he had to settle for just five in a row (which remains the record for consecutive wins).

Although all of Emerson’s titles came during the Amateur Era, no one can argue that Emerson didn’t face elite, international competition. He beat Arthur Ashe in both the 1966 and 1967 finals. He also didn’t stop at just singles, because he won three more Australian Open titles in men’s doubles.

2. Roger Federer

Australian Open Champion: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018

Other Australian Open Finals: 2009

Former world No. 1 Roger Federer somehow avoided Novak Djokovic in all of his Australian Open finals appearances, although Djokovic beat Federer in his final match in Australia during the 2020 semifinals.

Federer beat six different opponents from six different nations to capture his six championships -- the second-most in Open Era history as well as the second-most (tied with Roy Emerson) of all time.

Although it never happened, the world certainly deserved to witness an Australian Open tennis championship between Federer and Djokovic. Maybe in the next lifetime.

1. Novak Djokovic

Australian Open Champion: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023

Why is Novak Djokovic the greatest Australian Open tennis champion of all time? His resume speaks for itself:

• Most Australian Open titles (10)
• Most Australian Open finals appearances (10)
• Multiple Australian Open three-peats
• Technically on a current streak of four straight active titles (he missed the 2022 tournament due to his vaccination status)
• Winner of the longest Australian Open match of all time (2012 final vs. Rafael Nadal)

Parameters of Rankings

These rankings are based on the number of standout performances by each player, the number of titles won by each player, and each player’s legacy at the Australian Open.

Australian Open Tennis Betting Odds at Betway

Find Australian Open odds on the Betway. You’ll find all the latest spreads, totals, money lines, and tip-offers. Missed tip-off? No problem, Betway also offers live betting. All your Tennis betting needs are covered at our online sportsbook.

Visit Betway’s Tennis predictions page for the best insights, analysis, and picks on futures, parlays, props, and more.