Novak Djokovic Starts 401st Week As ATP World No. 1

Novak Djokovic Starts 401st Week As ATP World No. 1

by Nurein Ahmed

At this point, there is no limit to what Novak Djokovic can achieve as he kicks off a race to infinity at the top of the ATP Rankings.

Djokovic begins a 401st week at the top of the men's rankings and is guaranteed to remain there until January 28, 2024, at the earliest, which would take him to 409 weeks. The 36-year-old has not slowed down even as he continues to add another year to his age.

His dominance is not waning despite a gut-wrenching defeat to Jannik Sinner at the Davis Cup Finals last Saturday. Djokovic scored the most Top 10 wins on tour in 2023 with 17 and won almost every big title he competed for.

A fortnight ago, Djokovic secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for an eighth year, beating nearest challenger Carlos Alcaraz to that title. In Turin, it was his top priority as he would reveal during his on-court interview, and became the first singles player to attain the 400-week mark as No. 1 a day after a record-breaking 7th season-ending championships.

The Serbian has eclipsed several of the most iconic names in tennis including Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams, who have all crossed the 300-week mark. On the men's tour, only Roger Federer has tallied the most weeks after Djokovic with 310.

The next beatable record will certainly be that of the Bryan brothers who were jointly ranked as World No. 1 for a record 438 weeks in doubles (Mike Bryan has been ranked the men's doubles World No. 1 for a total of 506 weeks).

Carlos Alcaraz will have a shot at the No. 1 ranking at the 2024 Australian Open, but will most likely need to win the tournament and hope Djokovic doesn't progress beyond the semifinal stage in his title defense next January.

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