“I’m very proud and it’s a big thing,” Novak Djokovic pays tribute to Steffi Graf upon equalling her record for most weeks as World No. 1
Days away from overtaking Steffi Graf, Novak Djokovic shows utmost humbleness and modesty in praising the German great.
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Novak Djokovic and Steffi Graf
Novak Djokovic is days away from clinching another standalone record in history. Steffi Graf‘s longstanding record of 377 weeks as World No. 1 was recently matched by the Serbian. With no chance of any player dethroning him this week, Djokovic is on course to achieve his 378th week as the top-ranked player on the Tour.
Djokovic could have achieved the feat long back but the events of the 2022 season delayed the process. He was defending 5200 combined points at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open last year. But the deportation Down Under, ATP and WTA removing points from Wimbledon due to the ban on Russians and entry ban from the USA saw Djokovic take big hits on his ranking lead. He held more than 10,000 points at one time but lost them without any real defense.
Nevertheless, his spoils in the latter half of the 2022 season and the win in the 2023 Australian Open has him back at the top. As he inches closer to overtaking Graf, he was humble enough to give credit to the 22-time Grand Slam singles title winner during the press conference he called in Belgrade.
“Thanks to all the other players for the congratulations, I’m very proud to break Steffi Graff’s record for the number of weeks I have said countless times that this sport is everything in my life, I have subordinated everything to it and I am very lucky to have a great team around me and a family that has supported me all my life.
“Steffi Graff is one of the biggest legends of our sport and of course it’s a big thing that I managed to equal her record and I will probably break it. I dreamed of being the first in the world and winning Wimbledon. When I achieved that, I had to keep dreaming those dreams too they bring out the best in you. I am proud to have achieved this and I never see success as solely mine, but of all the people who have always been by my side throughout my career,” said Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz can match Novak Djokovic’s points tally this week but can’t replace him
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz made his season debut at the 2023 Argentina Open. Up against Cameron Norrie in the finals, the Spaniard defeated the Briton to clinch another clay court title. As a result, he closed the gap on Djokovic and stands a better chance again this week.
Alcaraz is competing at the 2023 Rio Open where he is also the defending champion. If he makes a successful title defense, he will have the same points as Djokovic, i.e. 6980 points. Despite the same points, Djokovic will remain the World No. 1 as he won more points (5820) in Grand Slams and Masters-1000 as compared to Alcaraz (5090).
Djokovic has admitted multiple times lately that the ranking doesn’t concern him anymore. His main focus remains winning the most Majors. While he can be humble and modest in this, he still continues to keep the youngsters at bay as he sits on the top of the rankings.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)