Djokovic Reaches Milestone In Cincinnati

I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get right to the point. With his win today, Novak Djokovic became the third-most successful player in the history of the Cincinnati Masters Series tournament, making him the first player in tennis history to rank in the top three at all nine masters series tournaments.

This is based on the same metric that I have used in previous posts, which is total ranking points earned. The formula is adjusted to the current ranking formula so that a quarterfinal appearance in Monte Carlo is worth 180 points regardless of whether it happened in 1994 or 2019.

In his career, Djokovic has now earned 4,605 points in Cincinnati, surpassing Michael Chang at 4,570 points. In the history of Cincinnati, which is Djokovic’s second worst tournament, he now only trails Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.

Federer is in the top three at eight of the nine tournaments, missing only Monte Carlo, where he ranks fourth behind Rafael Nadal, Thomas Muster and Djokovic. Rafael Nadal is among the top three at five of the tournaments, cracking the top-3 players in Canada last week with his title. He is also among the top three at Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Djokovic is the most successful player at three of the Masters 1000s, which is tied for most with Nadal. Federer is the top player at two of the Masters Series events and Andre Agassi is the best player in the history of Miami.

Here is a breakdown of where Djokovic ranks at all 14 elite events.

First (3): Canada, Shanghai, Paris

Second (6): Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Year-End Finals

Third (3): Madrid, Wimbledon, Cincinnati

Fourth (2): Roland Garros, US Open

The same breakdown for Federer

First (5): Australian Open, Indian Wells, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, Year-End Finals

Second (3): Madrid, Rome, US Open

Third (4): Miami, Roland Garros, Shanghai, Paris

Fourth (2): Monte Carlo, Canada

And for Nadal

First (4): Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros

Second (1): Canada

Third (1): Indian Wells

Fourth (1): Shanghai

Fifth or lower (7): Australian Open, Miami, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, US Open, Paris, Year-End Finals

Looking at the GOAT debate from this perspective might make someone wonder why Nadal is even in the conversation. There are six elite tournaments in which Nadal isn’t even among the five best players in the history of that tournament. Meanwhile, Djokovic and Federer are inside the top four in all 14 tournaments. Djokovic will likely finish his career inside the top three in all 14 tournaments.

No single metric can resolve the GOAT debate, but based on this metric, Djokovic is well on his way to finishing his career as the GOAT.