On Monday,
Novak Djokovic started his 311th week as world no. 1, leaving
Roger Federer on 310 and securing one of the most impressive tennis records.
Novak has been the player to beat in the previous decade, becoming world no. 1 after Wimbledon 2011 and spending much more weeks on the ATP throne than Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray combined!
The Serb needed five impressive streaks at the top to catch and pass Federer, securing one of his most desired records and gathering more boost in his quest for the greatest player of all time. The first stint lasted for a year before Roger Federer stole the honor from Djokovic for 17 weeks before Novak got the throne back and kept it for 48 weeks.
Rafael Nadal passed the Serb in the closing stages of 2013 and remained at the top until the next year's Wimbledon before Novak returned in style and delivered 122 consecutive weeks at the top. Novak lost the edge in the closing stages of 2016 and struggled with an elbow injury for over a year, dropping out from the top-20 in 2018 before embracing a marvelous comeback.
Since November 2018, Novak has missed only 13 weeks on the ATP throne, reducing the deficit to Roger Federer and passing the Swiss this week for one of the greatest accomplishments in our sport.
1st stint: July 4, 2011 - July 8, 2012 (53 weeks)
2nd stint: November 5, 2012 - October 6, 2013 (48 weeks)
3rd stint: July 7, 2014 - November 6, 2016 (122)
4th stint: November 5, 2018 - November 3, 2019 (52 weeks)
5th stint: February 3, 2020 - March 14, 2021 (36)