790 consecutive weeks in the top 10: Rafael Nadal breaks Jimmy Connors record
Another milestone for superstar Rafael Nadal : Today he is in the top 10 in the world for the 790th week in a row!
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 09, 2020, 12:06 pm
Jimmy Connors has not only enriched the tennis world with various freaks and great fighting spirit, above all, the now 68-year-old is always in conversation when it comes to a very specific record: the 109 tournament victories that "Jimbo" has accumulated over the course of his career Has. And that Roger Federer, with currently 103 titles, is following. Connors' record should be treated with caution, after all, in addition to his eight Grand Slam titles, he has also won a number of smaller (and less well-filled) titles, especially in the USA.
Be that as it may: Another, rather unknown Connors record is history today. Because Connors once managed to be in the top 10 for 789 weeks in a row. But that puts him only in second place, because Rafael Nadal has overtaken him with 790 weeks.
Rafael Nadal: in the top 10 since 2005!
Specifically, Rafa cracked the top 10 for the first time on April 25, 2005, his breakthrough year in which he won 11 (!) Titles, including those in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Roland Garros. Since then, the now 13-time French Open champ has been stubbornly among the ten best players in the world. Most of the time, by the way, in first or second place.
It was only close in 2015, when Nadal was "only" in 10th place in the summer months, a result of his wrist and appendix problems the year before; In 2015 Nadal missed winning one of the major clay court tournaments for the first time since 2004. In 2016 it was again tight with 9th place in summer and autumn, here too the wrist had caused problems in spring and summer and Nadal ended his season prematurely. Since June 12, 2017, Nadal has been permanently listed at number 1 or 2 again.
Novak Djokovic has other goals
Oh yes, and what about Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic ? The two will probably not catch up with Nadal. Federer is also constancy in person, he cracked the top 10 for the first time on October 7, 2002, but fell to 17th place in 2017 after his knee and back problems and the early end of the 2016 season. And Djokovic, who was among the top 10 for the first time on March 19, 2007, slipped down to 22nd place in 2018, after his shoulder surgery and another premature end of the 2017 season.
Djokovic will cope with it, because he already has other goals in mind: On March 8, 2021, he could replace Roger Federer with the most weeks in first place.