Novak Djokovic surpasses Pete Sampras for most weeks as World No. 1 in ATP rankings


Novak Djokovic surpasses Pete Sampras for most weeks as World No. 1 in ATP rankings

novak djokovic rome masters

Novak Djokovic with Pete Sampras

The current World No.1 Novak Djokovic has broken tennis legend Pete Sampras’ record of being the World No.1 in ATP rankings for the second-highest number of weeks. Pete Sampras’ record of 287 weeks is broken as the Serb won his 36th ATP 1000 title in Rome.

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Djokovic will now aim to beat Roger Federer, who has 310 weeks as World No.1. While Federer is away due to an injury, Djokovic will try to garner as many points as possible to remain at the position for longer.

To beat Federer, Djokovic must hold on the spot till March

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer

According to ATP rannkings, in March 2021 Novak will reach the 310 weeks as No.1, equivalent to Roger Federer. Since the ranking have been devised, Roger is the only man to have spent 310 weeks as number one. Djokovic will hope to win not only this season but ahead in 2021 as well.

In a recent interaction with the media, Novak stated about how special these records are for him. He said, “Surpassing Pete’s record is very special to me. I always looked up to him, at how mentally strong and resilient he was. This is one of my 2 biggest professional goals.”

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Djokovic is at number one with 10,860 points. He is closely followed by Rafael Nadal at number 2 with 9,850 points as of 14 September 2020. The number three spot is held by Dominic Thiem with 9,125 points. The remainder of this season as well as the starting of the upcoming season will be crucial for Novak.

Novak will have to assert dominance till March to beat Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks as world no.1. Novak is set to play the French Open that will have World No.2 Rafael Nadal defending his title. World No.3 and 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem will compete too.

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