Novak Djokovic has dethroned Carlos Alcaraz as the world No. 1 after his first-round win at the US Open set him up for an ATP Ranking record when they are updated on Monday, September 4.

23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has re-claimed the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings after he defeated world No. 84 Alexandre Muller in the opening round of the New York major.

The Serb was usurped as world No. 1 by Alcaraz back in June, and the Spaniard held onto the position for 10 consecutive weeks, increasing his total number of weeks at No. 1 to 35.

There has been a back-and-forth throughout the season as the two top seeds replaced each other as world No. 1 several times. In fact, no other player has held the top spot since September 2022, when Daniil Medvedev was overthrown by Alcaraz as the newly-crowned US Open champion.

After taking back No. 1 in June, Alcaraz then solidified his placing after he defeated Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, in the final of this year's grasscourt major in a five-set battle. However, the 36-year-old got his own back at the Cincinnati Open final last week where he prevailed over Alcaraz after a grueling three hours and 49 minutes.

This victory meant that all Djokovic needed to do was win his first match at the US Open to overtake Alcaraz, regardless of how the latter does at the tournament.

This is because the defending champion has 2000 ranking points to defend, whereas Djokovic has 0 as he was barred from entering the US for the 2022 Slam due to his unvaccinated status.

As he returns to No. 1, Djokovic will mark his 390th week at the top. This means that he will extend his commanding record for most weeks spent at world No. 1.

His closest rival is fellow Big Three member Roger Federer, who spent 310 weeks at the top, but seen as though he retired in 2022, it is unlikely anyone will catch up to Djokovic's incredible achievement anytime soon.

Other players who dominated the top spot include Pete Sampras with 286 weeks, Ivan Lendl with 270, and Jimmy Connors with 268. Rafael Nadal is sixth on the list, having spent 209 weeks as world No. 1.