Novak Djokovic has today started his 271st week at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings and passed Ivan Lendl (270 weeks) for third place in the all-time list of most weeks in top spot.
The Serbian, who began his fourth stint at the summit of men’s professional tennis on 5 November 2018, will now have American Pete Sampras (286 weeks) and record-holder Roger Federer of Switzerland (310 weeks) in his sights.
Lendl, who became the sixth player in ATP Rankings history to rise to No. 1, recalls to ATPTour.com about his own, first brief rise to the top spot. “We were playing a Davis Cup tie in Paraguay and it came as a total surprise. I loved working for, and being No. 1 — after all, that’s what you strive for.
“During my career, I had no idea of how many weeks I’d spent at No. 1, but it was a by product of winning big tournaments. Today, Novak’s consistency is amazing and that’s why he has been No. 1 for this many weeks.”
Like Jimmy Connors (268 weeks), whose mark Djokovic passed two weeks ago, Lendl spent a total of eight stints in top spot, with his longest run of 157 weeks between 9 September 1985 and 11 September 1988. In his current period at No. 1, totalling 48 weeks, 32-year-old Djokovic has compiled a 46-9 match record, including title runs at 2019 Australian Open and Wimbledon.
This week as he bids to capture the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships title, Djokovic will look to focus on battling Rafael Nadal to finish as the 2019 year-end No. 1 for a record-equalling sixth time (2011-12, ’14-15, ’18). Nadal currently leads Djokovic by 1,960 points in the 2019 ATP Race To London with less than two months to go until the end of the regular ATP Tour season.
ALL-TIME WEEKS AT NO. 1
|
No. 1 Player
|
Total Weeks
|
Longest Streak
|
|
1) Roger Federer
|
310
|
237 weeks
|
|
2) Pete Sampras
|
286
|
102 weeks
|
|
3) Novak Djokovic
|
271
|
122 weeks
|
|
4) Ivan Lendl
|
270
|
157 weeks
|
|
5) Jimmy Connors
|
268
|
160 weeks
|
MOVING UP THE NO. 1 LADDER - Djokovic has started his 271st week at No. 1 and now only Sampras and record-holder Federer are ahead of him for most weeks spent at No. 1.
|
No. 1 Player
|
Total Weeks
|
Target Date
|
|
1) Roger Federer
|
310
|
30 June 2020
|
|
2) Pete Sampras
|
286
|
13 January 2020
|
DJOKOVIC AT NO. 1 - Take a closer look at Djokovic's match wins, Top 10 and finals record during his four stints at No. 1.
|
Stints At No. 1
|
W-L Record
|
vs. Top 10
|
Finals Record
|
|
4 July 2011-8 July 2012
|
63-12 (.840)
|
18-9 (.667)
|
4-4
|
|
5 November 2012-6 October 2013
|
62-9 (.873)
|
18-6 (.750)
|
5-2
|
|
7 July 2014-6 November 2016
|
167-17 (.908)
|
60-9 (.870)
|
21-5
|
|
5 November 2018-present
|
46-9 (.792)
|
11-4 (.857)
|
2-2
|
|
Totals
|
338-47 (.878)
|
107-28 (.793)
|
32-13
|
Statistical assistance by Joshua Rey and Greg Sharko
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2nJeTfI
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