Weeks as world number one: Novak Djokovic overtakes Pete Sampras - and is now chasing Federer
Novak Djokovic has overtaken Pete Sampras in terms of his time as world number one. Now only Roger Federer lies in front of him.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Sep 21, 2020, 11:39 pm
The "Djoker" has now spent a total of 287 weeks in first place in the ATP world rankings, equivalent to second place in the all-time best list. Because Djokovic has overtaken the previous runner-up Pete Sampras (286 weeks) this week. And only Roger Federer (310 weeks) on the way to the all-time record ahead of him.
And the prospects of replacing the Swiss soon as the record holder are brilliant: Djokovic currently has 10,860 points on his points account, followed by Rafael Nadal (9,850 points), Dominic Thiem (9,125 points) and Federer (6,630 points). With his victory at the Masters tournament in Rome , Djokovic even has 11,260 points on his account in the live ranking.
Djokovic will likely stay at the top until the Australian Open 2021
Called? By the time of the ATP Finals in London, Djokovic will already have his place in the sun safe, and even here he can still score well. Because in 2019 he was eliminated in the group stage after his defeat by Federer. In other words: There would have to be a lot going on against him so that he doesn't stay at the top of the world rankings at least until the Australian Open in 2021. And could accumulate weeks for the record accordingly.
Should Djokovic keep his lead, he could replace Federer as the new record holder for the number 1 weeks on March 8, 2021.
Federer with comfortable guidance of the number 1 weeks at a time
Small consolation for the "Maestro": Federer also holds the record for most weeks at number 1 in the world rankings - from February 2, 2004 (when he first came first) to August 17, 2008, Federer stood for 237 weeks without a break the top. Jimmy Connors (160 weeks in a row) and Ivan Lendl (157 weeks) follow at a distance, as does Djokovic (122 weeks).
Djokovic's current "streak" also includes "only" 12 weeks during the "countless" Corona break. So he would have to stay at the top for another four years without interruption to replace Federer here too ...