Novak Djokovic's numbers belong in the pantheon of tennis immortals and one of his records will most likely never be beaten.
Djokovic has won a record 39 Masters titles after bagging his latest win in last Sunday's epic final at the Cincinnati Masters. He is now at least three clear of Rafael Nadal (second place) who owns 36 titles. The impressive thing about that record is that Djokovic has won at every stop in the nine cities that host the ATP's most prestigious tournament category outside the Slams.
In 2018 he became the first player to win each of the nine Masters titles at least once in his career, a feat termed the Golden Masters, when he beat Roger Federer to win the Western & Southern Open for the first time. In 2020, he won the same event for a second time when it was staged in New York due to pandemic fears, again becoming the first player to win the Golden Masters twice.
Now that Djokovic has won Cincinnati for a third time on Sunday when he saved a championship point to defeat Carlos Alcaraz, he is on the cusp of reaching unprecedented levels of dominance at Masters 1000 level. He could win each of the nine Masters events at least three times in 2024, should he triumph in Monte-Carlo.
Djokovic holds two titles at the Principality, won in 2013 when he ended Nadal's eight-year reign, and in 2015 also beating his Spanish rival en route to the trophy. Strangely enough, his results down the years at a place he now calls home, have been rather dire.
The 36-year-old has made the quarterfinals on two occasions in his last seven participations at the Monte Carlo Masters, and shockingly lost Lorenzo Musetti this year. If Djokovic does indeed turn the tide and wins in Monaco next year, he'll achieve something that may well be out of reach for any player.
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