Novak Djokovic has been the best tennis player in the world over the last 10 years, so it might seem like no surprise that Djokovic has surpassed Roger Federer's record of 311 weeks as the No. 1 player in the world. However, if we go back in time nearly a decade, I think we will get a more accurate perspective of just how improbable this record was and how truly remarkable it still is.
On July 4, 2011, Djokovic was listed as the No. 1 tennis player in the ATP weekly rankings for the first time in his career. I still believe this is his most impressive week as the No. 1 player in the world to date out of the 311 there are to choose from. Federer and Rafael Nadal had just won 25 out of the last 30 major titles. Just to get to No. 1 in the world, Djokovic had to come back from match points down to defeat Federer in the US Open semifinals, lead Serbia to the Davis Cup title, win the Australian Open defeat Nadal in the finals of Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome, while riding a 42-match winning streak. As if that wasn't enough he had to win his maiden Wimbledon crown and defeat Nadal in the championship match.
All that work landed Djokovic one week at No. 1. At the time, Pete Sampras had 286, Federer 285, Ivan Lendl 270 and Jimmy Connors 268. Djokovic was 24 at the time and ranked No. 1, while Federer was 29 years old and ranked No. 3.
At that point in Federer's career, pundits were rightly impressed that Federer was still playing well enough at 29 to be ranked No. 3 in the world, having reached the final at just one of the last four majors. After all, Federer's contemporaries: Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Haas, David Nalbandian, James Blake, etc. They were all ranked well outside the top-20 and were wrapping up impressive careers in professional tennis.
Only an optimistic Djokovic fan would have been bold enough to predict the Serb could still battle for No. 1 in the world five years later when he reached Federer's ripe age of 29. And even if Djokovic managed to remain the No. 1 player in the world for five-consecutive years (a record of its own), he still wouldn't have even reached Jimmy Connors on the all-time leaders list.
And don't forget about Nadal. He had just been the runner-up at seven different tournaments in 2011, which is his career-high. There were other challengers that Djokovic had to fight off to guard his No. 1 ranking. Players like Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka were growing in belief that they too could reach the pinnacle of the ATP rankings after seeing what Djokovic had done.
To suggest that Djokovic might get anywhere near 300 weeks as the No. 1 player in the world would have been unfathomable. Djokovic's best chance to leave his mark on tennis was to finish 2011 strong and let it stand as one of the best single-season performances in tennis history. Getting his name even halfway up the list of former ATP No. 1 Players was an unachievable goal.
Yet, here we are...
Djokovic has subsequently scaled the ladder to the top of the rankings four different times and has remained there at least 35 weeks each time, and counting.
The longest run as the No. 1 player in the world was his third, lasting 122 before before injuries ended the streak. His age at the time: 29. His total stalled out at 223, which was good enough for fifth all time.
Djokovic had two wait exactly two years before he returned to the top-spot in the rankings. I said earlier that his first week was the most impressive of all 311. Well, the 224th has to be the second-most impressive in my opinion.
After rushing his return from injury, the first half of Djokovic's 2018 season imploded and his ranking dropped out of the top-20 for the first time in nearly a dozen years. Things started to turn around when he reached the final at Queen's Club. Then he reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, where he played in an instant classic against Nadal. Djokovic won 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9), 3-6, 10-8 and went on to win the title, his fourth Wimbledon title.
A month later, Djokovic won the illusive Cincinnati title to complete his trophy case with at least one from all 14 of the elite events around the tour. At the US Open, he only dropped two set and won all of the last 16. He eventually won Shanghai and reached the finals of Paris and the ATP Finals to climb 20 spots in the rankings and return to No. 1 in the world.
Djokovic's current run atop the ATP rankings at nearly 34-years old is impressive in its own way. The Serb won the 2020 Australian Open winning the final in five sets over an opponents six years his junior to take back the No. 1 ranking. It was his 17th major title and put him within striking distance of a once unreachable record at a point in his career when past tennis greats would be starting a broadcasting career.
This run doesn't have an end in sight. Djokovic has secured the No. 1 ranking for at least another month, despite constantly changing ranking rules that have massively benefitted his chief rivals. Djokovic didn't just break Federer's record today. He is beginning the process of smashing that record.
