ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic matches Roger Federer's magical number of 310

The world's leading player Novak Djokovic celebrates a massive ranking milestone on Monday, matching Roger Federer's ultimate ranking record of 310 weeks spent on the ATP throne! Novak started the fifth and the current reign as world no. 1 following the last year's Australian Open, keeping Rafael Nadal and all other opponents behind him and counting towards Federer's record, the one he was desperate to overpower. Alongside the Major titles, weeks spent on the ATP throne were crucial for Djokovic, who will become the leader next Monday. Cracking the top-3 in 2007, Novak had to wait until 2011 to become world no. 1 for the first time, achieving that following the first Wimbledon crown and establishing himself as the player to beat in the following decade.

Between July 2011 and November 2016, Djokovic spent 223 weeks on the ATP throne, moving closer to the leading figures and hoping to catch Federer within a couple of years. As we all know, the Serb struggled with an elbow injury in 2017 and the first part of 2018, dropping out from the top-20 before making a marvelous comeback to become a contender once again.

Novak Djokovic has joined Roger Federer on 310 weeks as world no. 1.

Two years after his previous stint, Novak was the world's best player for the fourth time at the end of 2018, staying above all the rivals for a year before Rafael Nadal stole the throne in the closing stages of 2019.

Novak started all over in the previous season and conquered the ATP Cup and the Australian Open to begin his fifth reign, which still stands and has brought him the ultimate ranking honor today. Djokovic claimed one Major and two Masters 1000 titles in 2020 to forge a massive gap ahead of Rafael Nadal, cementing it with his ninth Australian Open crown that came two weeks ago. Novak is currently over 2000 points clear of Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, standing as the favorite for another year-end no. 1 position that would put him ahead of Pete Sampras, as they currently share the record with six year-end no. 1 awards.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3suOaj8