Novak Djokovic surpasses Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to reach a unique milestone with a victory over Gael Monfils
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Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic defeated Gael Monfils of France 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the third round of the Madrid Masters on Tuesday, becoming the first man to defeat an opponent 18 times on the ATP Tour. The world No. 1 was challenged early on in his return to Madrid for the first time since winning the title in 2019, but following a rain delay at 2-2, he drew away to set up a fascinating third-round match with either Denis Shapovalov or Andy Murray.
Novak Djokovic is the first man to beat an opponent 18 consecutive times
The World No.1 is the first man to beat an opponent 18 consecutive times on the ATP tour. After his 18th victory over the Frenchman, Djokovic surpassed Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and acquired the top spot in the elite list. The Spaniard has emerged victorious 17 times against Richard Gasquet and when it comes to Federer, he has won 17 times against David Ferrer and Mikhail Youzhny.
Anyway, Prior to their now-18 tour-level meetings, Monfils did win one Challenger match against Novak Djokovic, defeating the Serb in the quarterfinals of a clay-court event in Bergamo, Italy in 2004. Djokovic was a No. 600-ranked 16-year-old at the time, while Monfils was a No. 669-ranked 17-year-old. Earlier that year, Monfils had won the pair’s only junior meeting.
Djokovic’s triumph on Tuesday marked his 375th career win at a Masters 1000 event, next only to Nadal (403), and his 995th overall tour-level win, sixth only to Jimmy Connors (1,274), Federer (1,251), Lendl (1,068), and Nadal (1,068). (1,048). With the win, the Serb also cemented his place at the top of the ATP rankings; if Monfils had defeated him, Daniil Medvedev would have reclaimed the top spot.
Novak Djokovic to face either Andy Murray or Denis Shapovalov
In the last-16, Novak Djokovic will meet either 14th seed Denis Shapovalov or wild card Andy Murray. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have faced each other 36 times (including 19 finals), with Djokovic holding a 25–11 overall and 11–8 finals advantage. When it comes to Denis Shapovalov, he has met the Serb 7 times before. The World No. 1 was victorious in all of their encounters.
Also Read: “I can beat him once,” Gael Monfils ready to bounce back and face Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)