Novak Djokovic secures year-end honor ahead of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal

The ATP ranking officially started in 1973, with five dominant players on the year-end no. 1 charts. Jimmy Connors achieved the feat five times during the 70s, followed by another great American Pete Sampras, who reigned in the 90s to become the only player with six consecutive year-end no. 1 honors between 1993-98. Roger Federer joined the race in 2004, and we have seen only four different players at the top in the previous 16 years. The Swiss dominated between 2004-09 to join Connors on five years at the top, followed by his biggest rival in those years, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard became Roger's top rival in 2005, winning Major titles and becoming year-end no. 1 in 2008. Despite many setbacks with injuries, Nadal has stayed competitive over the years, finishing the season at the top in 2017 and 2019 to become the fifth player with at least five year-end no. 1 awards.

Novak Djokovic has been the dominant figure in men's tennis in the previous decade, accomplishing the year-end no. 1 feat four times between 2011-15 and adding another notable season in 2018 following that remarkable comeback. After 2019, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were tied on five year-end no. 1 years, leaving all the rivals far behind and losing the pace only once when Andy Murray overpowered Novak in the closing stages of 2016. In ten of the previous 11 seasons, Rafa or Novak have stood as the year-end no. 1 players, preparing another battle for 2021. Djokovic was the most consistent player of the reduced 2020 season, passing Nadal on the ATP throne after Melbourne and never looking back. The Serb melted the deficit to the Spaniard with a brilliant ATP Cup run, beating Rafa in the final and helping Serbia win the inaugural title. At the Australian Open, Novak lifted the eighth trophy following a tight five-setter triumph over Dominic Thiem and claimed another Dubai title before the coronavirus halted the season until August.

Novak Djokovic became the second player with six year-end no. 1 honors.

Continuing where he left in the opening two months, Novak won the 35th Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, moving ahead of Rafael Nadal with another in Rome in September. The Spaniard bounced back at Roland Garros (Novak earned points despite that), toppling the Serb in straight sets in the title match but not making the difference on the ATP ranking list. Entering Vienna to secure the record-tying sixth year-end no. 1 honor, Novak reached the quarter-final and lost to Lorenzo Sonego, winning only three games in the toughest loss he has ever experienced on the ATP Tour! Djokovic decided to skip Paris, preparing for the ATP Finals, where he lost an epic semi-final battle against Dominic Thiem. Novak will finish the season with an almost 2200 points lead over Rafa, keeping his Australian Open points and looking good to pass Roger Federer's record of 310 weeks as world no. 1 in March.

"I'm delighted. It's been a strange year for all of us, with a six months' gap for all of us. We restarted the season in August, and I continued where I left off before lockdown and had a terrific run. I'm happy with the way things went. I have to say a huge thank you to my team for supporting me in a hard time and trusting me. This is the crown for all achievements in the year, and it's unreal that I've managed to finish the year at No. 1 for the sixth time. I'm super proud of it, but I have mixed emotions because of what is going on globally. I can't be ignorant to that, although I have achieved one of the biggest goals in sport," Novak Djokovic said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JU7Xr0