Novak Djokovic has set yet another record in tennis by becoming the first player to spend a 378th week as world No.1.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion drew level with Steffi Graf last week but has now overtaken her. He has held the top spot for a total of seven years and 14 weeks. To put his dominance in perspective, Djokovic has been No.1 for 168 weeks longer than nemesis Rafael Nadal and 67 weeks longer than Roger Federer who is the only other male player to have surpassed the 300-week benchmark on the men’s Tour.
Djokovic first rose to the top of the ranking on July 4th 2011. Since then he has spent seven separate periods at the top with his longest reign being 122 weeks between July 7th 2014 and November 6th 2016. Over the past decade, there has only been one season where he did not hold the No.1 spot at some stage which was in 2017.
“I still want more achievements,” the AFP news agency quoted Djokovic as saying to reporters on Sunday.
“I’m driven by the goals. I’m as dedicated to the sport really as anybody else.
“Of course, it’s surreal in a way to be that many weeks world number one, to match Steffi Graf, who is one of the all-time greats of our sport, both men and women. Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering. I’m very proud of it.”
The Serbian has no intention of giving up his No.1 spot anytime soon after enjoying a perfect start to 2022 by winning two titles and 12 consecutive matches in Australia. Last month at the Australian Open he drew level with Nadal for most major singles titles won by a male player.
Djokovic will return to action this week at the Dubai Tennis Championships. He had been bothered by a hamstring injury in recent weeks which threatened to derail his momentum on the Tour but those concerns have since eased.
“I’m getting closer to a hundred percent. Still not there in terms of the game itself, how I feel on the court. But the important thing is that there is no pain. I don’t have a hindrance to the way I move on the court,” he said of the issue.
Dubai could be a key tournament for Djokovic’s points tally if he is unable to conduct the schedule he would like to do. He is still waiting to hear back from American authorities to see if he will be allowed into the country despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19. If Djokovic is refused, he will miss Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami next month which reward up to 2000 ranking points together.
As of this week, Djokovic has a 200-point lead over Carlos Alcaraz in the race to No.1.
Djokovic’s No.1 reigns
- July 4, 2011 – Jul 8, 2012 (53 weeks)
- Nov 5, 2012 – Oct 6, 2013 (48 weeks)
- Jul 7, 2014 – Nov 6, 2016 (122 weeks)
- Nov 5, 2018 – Nov 3, 2019 (52 weeks)
- Feb 3, 2020 – Mar 22, 2020 (7 weeks)
- Aug 24, 2020 – Feb 27, 2022 (79 weeks)
- Mar 21, 2022 – Jun 12, 2022 (12 weeks)
- Jan 30, 2023 – Present (5 weeks)
