Novak Djokovic has become only the second man in history to spend a 310th week as world No.1 in the FedEx ATP rankings.
The Serbian tennis star officially reached the milestone on Monday during what is his fifth stint at the top of the rankings. He has held the position since February 2nd 2020 but during that period the ranking system was frozen between 23 March 2020 and 23 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The milestone places him on level ground with nemesis Roger Federer for most weeks spent at the top. Federer still holds the record for longest streak as world No.1 at 237 weeks.
Djokovic first reached No.1 on July 4th 2011 and has held the position at some point almost every year since with the only exception being in 2017. His longest run as world No.1 took place between 2014-2016 where he was at the top of the standings for 122 weeks. He has also managed to claim the year-end No.1 position on six occasions which is a milestone that has only ever been achieved by Pete Sampras.
Just over a week ago Djokovic clinched his 18th Grand Slam title by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open. After his latest triumph, the 34-year-old hinted that he may change his scheduling in the future in order to focus more on another record he aims to break. Djokovic is just two trophies away from equalling the all-time Grand Slam record record which is currently held by Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“After achieving the historic No.1 (record) for the longest weeks at No. 1, it’s going to be a relief for me because I’m going to focus all my attention on slams mostly,” he told reporters shortly after his Australian Open win.
“When you are going for the No.1 ranking, you kind of have to be playing the entire season and you have to be playing well, you have to play all the tournaments.’
“My goals will adapt and will shift a little bit, which means that I will have to adjust also my calendar.”
Djokovic currently leads the rankings by more than 2000 points from his nearest rival Nadal. He has won a total of 39 titles and recorded 117 wins over top 10 players whilst No.1 so far in his career. He will surpass Federer’s record next week.
Djokovic’s No.1 stints
| Stints At No. 1 | W-L Record | vs. Top 10 | Finals Record |
| 4 July 2011-8 July 2012 | 63-12 (.840) | 18-9 (.667) | 4-4 |
| 5 November 2012-6 October 2013 | 62-9 (.873) | 18-6 (.750) | 5-2 |
| 7 July 2014-6 November 2016 | 167-17 (.908) | 60-9 (.870) | 21-5 |
| 5 November 2018-3 November 2019 | 58-10 (.792) | 13-4 (.857) | 5-2 |
| 3 February 2020-present* | 37-5 (.881) | 8-1 (.888) | 4-0 |
| Totals | 387-53 (.880) | 117-30 (.796) | 39-13 |
