After a season which has been heavily disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic Novak Djokovic is ending the year on a high after reaching a new benchmark in his career.
Monday marks the 300th week the Serbian has held the No.1 spot in the FedEx ATP rankings in what is a milestone which has only been previously achieved by rival Roger Federer. The triumph occurs nine years after Djokovic first reached the top spot at the age of 24. Since then, he has held the position over five separate periods.
Djokovic’s stints at No.1
| Period | length |
| 1 | Jul 4, 2011 – Jul 8, 2012 (53 weeks) |
| 2 | Nov 5, 2012 – Oct 6, 2013 (48 weeks) |
| 3 | Jul 7, 2014 – Nov 6, 2016 (122 weeks) |
| 4 | Nov 5, 2018 – Nov 3, 2019 (52 weeks) |
| 5 | Feb 3, 2020 – Mar 22, 2020 (7 weeks)* Aug 24, 2020 – Present (18 weeks)* |
*rankings in 2020 frozen between March 23 – August 23 due to Tour break
Djokovic is now within touching distance of overtaking Roger Federer for most weeks ever spent as world No.1. The record currently stands at 310 weeks which means it is possible that he could break it by February. At present he heads the rankings with a 2180-point lead over second place Rafael Nadal.
Last month the 17-time Grand Slam champion was honoured at the ATP Finals for ending the season as world No.1 for the sixth time in his career. Something that has only been achieved by his idol Pete Sampras.
“Pete was somebody I looked up to when I was growing up, so to match his record is a dream come true,” Djokovic said in an ATP statement.
“I will also keep striving to be a better player, hopefully have more success and break more records in a sport I love with all my heart.”
Djokovic closed out 2020 with a win-loss record of 41-5 and won four titles in total. Including a record eighth trophy at the Australian Open in January. He has also earned more prize money than any other player – male or female – this year.
