Novak Djokovic is going to become the oldest world number one ever, replacing Roger Federer this week.
The Serbian has been a tremendous post-30 performer, probably the greatest one we have ever seen. Nobody ever did as well after turning 30 as Djokovic, as he basically regularly dominated players who were a decade younger than him. Federer managed to win matches and Grand Slams to become the world no. 1 but he wasn’t as dominant.
In fact, the Swiss Maestro is currently the oldest player to reach the world number one rank at 36 years and 320 days. That's pretty amazing considering the number of great players he played with for much of his career. This was at a time when both Rafael Nadal and Djokovic were still at their peak.
Djokovic was only 30 and Nadal was 31, so to be able to do it is pretty amazing. Unfortunately for Federer, it's not a record he's going to keep, as Djokovic will replace him. The Serbian is currently second on the oldest world number one list with 36 years and 315 days.
This second entry is only five days younger than Federer’s and since Djokovic occupies the world no. 1 spot also this week, he will break the record on Sunday, and extend it even further the following week, when he’s set to be the world no. 1 as well.
His age next Monday will be 36 years and 322 days, two days older than the current Federer’s record, which is why he'll overtake him and become the oldest world number one ever. It's likely he will set a new record a few more times this year, but Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will try to stop him.
It depends on how his rivals will do. The Italian is actually projected to be world number one by the summer.