World number one Novak Djokovic became only the ninth player in the ATP World Tour history of reaching the 100th week as the top-ranked male tennis player. This milestone started when the ATP Rankings were released on Monday, September 23.
Djokovic joins Andre Agassi (101 weeks), Rafael Nadal (102), Bjorn Borg (109), John McEnroe (170), Jimmy Connors (268), Ivan Lendl (270), Pete Sampras (286) and record holder Roger Federer (302).
“I was taught to dream big and to dream to be No. 1 in the world,” Djokovic said. “It takes years of hard work and dedication. It is a long process to become a champion. Tennis is a very specific and unique sport, where you take all the credit or all the blame.”
Djokovic, who finished as the year-end world number one in the past two seasons, will be facing a tough challenge this year as rival Rafael Nadal is closing in on the top ranking. As of this week, Nadal leads in terms of ranking points accumulated in 2013 alone with 11,015 while Djokovic has 8,110. The Serbian will need to post strong results in the upcoming tournaments to stand a chance of becoming the year-end world number one this season.
Djokovic’s rise to the summit of men’s tennis ranking started around the middle of 2010 when he switched to a gluten-free diet. Couple with hard work and determination, the Serbian finally broke through the duopoly of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to clinch the number one ranking on July 4, 2011 after winning the Wimbledon title for the first time. In 2011, Djokovic posted his best record by far, having won 10 titles including three Grand Slam titles (he was a semifinalist at Roland Garros). He also compiled a 41-match winning streak in the first part of that season.
The Serbian relinquished the top spot in July 9, 2012 after Roger Federer won the Wimbledon title and earned enough points to surpass him. Federer held the top ranking for 17 weeks which was enough to break Pete Sampras’ record of 286 weeks. Federer would go on to hold the record with 302 weeks.
Djokovic regained the top ranking on November 5, 2012 after winning the ATP World TOur Finals. He would go on to hold the top ranking from then till now.
“There are still a lot of tournaments to come,” he said. “Calculations are not on my mind right now. I am trying to feed on the confidence that I have.”
