Tennis

Djokovic pushes the boundary of the impossible, ends the season as world No. 1 for the eighth time in his career

The Serbian tennis player is already certain to finish 2023 as world number one at the ongoing Tournament of Champions in Turin. He has proven once again that he is one of the best tennis players in history and continues to push the boundaries.

Published

1 year ago

15. 11. 2023

David Sobola

Novak Djokovic is already certain to finish 2023 as world number one at the ongoing ATP Finals in Turin. He has proven once again that he is one of the best tennis players in history and continues to push the boundaries.

Already in 2021, he has broken away from Pete Sampras, who finished 6 straight seasons as world number one between 1993-98. He gained definitive certainty with a 7:6, 6:7 and 6:3 victory over Denmark’s Holger Run in the opening match of the Green Group.

He is still aiming for a record 7th triumph at the Masters Tournament, which would unseat another great, Roger Federer. Djokovic has already finished the year as world number one in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023.

The aforementioned Sampras has done it 6 times. Five times the American Jimmy Connors, the Swiss Roger Federer and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal ended the season as number one. Four more times the American John McEnroe and the Czech-American Ivan Lendl did it.

The best tennis player in history?

There is still a question about who is the best tennis player in history. Considering the last decade and a half, when there was a triumvirate of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, whose dominance was broken by Britain’s Andy Murray.

Or shall we go further back in history and mention the legends Sampras, Borg, Lendl, Becker, McEnroe, Connors, Wilander, Agassi, Edberg and many other greats… Sure, the Serbian tennis player has never been as much of a crowd favourite as Federer or Agassi, but the statistics speak volumes!

After the ATP Finals, he will have spent 400 weeks as the number one in the ATP rankings, at the age of 36. The closest to him is Federer, who managed to reign for 310 weeks.

Most Grand Slam tournaments won, most Masters. Over 1000 matches won on the ATP circuit. Better records with arch rivals, with Federer 27-23 and Nadal 30-29. So the answer is simple. Novak continues to rewrite the history of the sport.

Source: ATP, ATP Finals