This Monday, he reached 378 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings and overtook Steffi Graff, who until yesterday held the highest record. Among men, he already had this distinction since March 2021.
Novak Djokovic continues to mark the history of white sports. It doesn’t matter that he hasn’t played a single match since the Australian Open or that last season he was banned from two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000s for non-vaccination. The Serb plays little, but wins everything. And that translates to the fact that he first managed to reclaim world number one and now surpass Steffi Graf as the person with the most weeks at the top of the circuit.
The record signs it thanks to its 378 weeks as the best on the planet. A tour which began July 1, 2011 and has been operating continuously for over a decade. The one in which he also managed to become the player who closed the highest ranking for the longest years, with seven seasons ending in number one.
He thus manages to dethrone the bar of 377 weeks that Steffi Graf reached in March 1997 and that he was invincible for 26 years , remaining valid despite the explosive careers signed by Serena Williams, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. This is why many thought they would be insurmountable. But Djokovic has arrived.
After obtaining the Australian Open and which mathematically could not be reached by any player to date, the Serb saw without playing the time pass until the mark was reached. The one who leaves it above Graff (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Serena Williams (319) and Roger Federer (310) . The Swiss, who held the men’s record, was overtaken by Djokovic on March 21, 2021.
We will now have to wait and see how long Djokovic will manage to stay number one, as Carlos Alcaraz is hot on his heels in the fight for the ATP rankings. The Serbian adds 6,980 and the Spaniard 6,780, so the differences are minimal. Of course the boy from Murcia suffered a relapse in his right leg (the very one that caused him to miss the Australian Open) after his participation in Rio de Janeiro its presence in Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami is therefore unknown at this time.
Djokovic for his part will play again this Tuesday, when he begins his adventure through the ATP 500 in Dubai. After the Middle East, everything is moldable for the winner of 22 Grand Slamssince not vaccinated cannot travel to the United States to compete in the Masters 1000 . At the moment, his only chance is to obtain a medical exemption to be able to play the tournaments on North American cement.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
