Djokovic makes history by breaking Steffi Graf's record for most weeks at world no. 1
ATP
Novak Djokovic officially broke Steffi Graf's record for most weeks as the World No. 1 singles player.
Djokovic recently won the 2023 Australian Open, and thanks to that, he collected 2,000 points for the champion. Those were enough to push him to the World No. 1 spot on the ATP Tour, starting his 374th at the time.
Djokovic's latest stint at the top of the ATP Rankings began on January 30th, 2023, when he dethroned 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who couldn't compete in Australia because of an injury.
With the latest ranking update, Djokovic has spent 378 weeks as the world number one, surpassing Graf's previous record of 377 weeks by one week.
Djokovic spoke about his record to AFP while preparing for the Dubai Championships, where he will compete next. Obviously, the Serbian player was more than happy about breaking this record.
"I could not have imagined it. As a kid, I was dreaming to be Wimbledon champion, to be No. 1 in the world. I achieved those dreams (in) 2011. After that, of course, I wanted more. I still want more achievements."
"Of course, I’m driven by the goals. I’m as dedicated to the sport really as anybody else. I obviously know that it’s not handed to me, that I have to earn it."
"Of course, it's surreal in a way to be that many weeks world No. 1, to match Steffi Graf, that is one of the all-time greats of our sport, both men and women. Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering. Of course, I'm very proud of it."
After not playing for almost a month since his historic 10th Australian Open triumph, the Serbian player will compete at the 2023 Dubai Championships. In the first round, the draw assigned him a qualifier, Tomas Machac, from the Czech Republic.
Despite just breaking the record, Djokovic might soon find himself as the World No. 2, as he'll most likely miss the Sunshine Double (ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami), and since Carlos Alcaraz doesn't defend a lot of points, he can overtake the Serbian player again.
