Djokovic’s five greatest achievements as world No 1 overtakes Graf

Novak Djokovic continues to rewrite the history books with his dominance in modern tennis. The Serbian icon has now surpassed Steffi Graff as the all-time leader of weeks spent as world No.1 and is looking an increasingly unmovable figure at the summit of the men’s rankings at the age of 35.

Djokovic has now reached 378 weeks as the world’s highest-ranked player, eclipsing the legendary Graff’s record of 377 which has stood since her retirement in 1999. And it marks the latest milestone in Djokovic’s illustrious career as he looks to become the undisputed greatest player to ever grace the court.  

Here, Express Sport looks at five of Djokovic’s most significant achievements in tennis.

Melbourne record-breaker  

The importance of Djokovic’s record-extending 10th Australian Open title can be best explained with what had come before. He was booted out of the country on the eve of the tournament on his last visit Down Under after the visa saga that took tennis by storm. 

But victory for a relentless Djokovic never looked in doubt last month as he dropped just one set on his route to the title. Seldom has a player dominated a tournament like Djokovic on the blue hard courts of Melbourne. Only his great rival Nadal has made an event his own with such brilliance with 14 French Open wins and Djokovic will be hoping to topple the Spaniard at Roland Garros come June. 

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A prolific number one 

Djokovic’s illustrious career has been marked by consistency and it is unsurprising that he holds the ATP Tour record for finishing the most seasons at the zenith of the rankings.

His victory in at the Paris Masters in 2021 left him as the year-end world No.1 for a seventh time in his career, breaking the record held by Pete Sampras. Significantly, he holds the impressive record over Nadal and Roger Federer, which must be considered in the perennial greatest-of-all-time debate.

The Master of the Masters 

Tennis greats are ultimately judged on their success in Grand Slams and Djokovic is destined to eclipse Nadal’s record total of 22 after matching that incredible number in Melbourne.

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But it would be understating Djokovic’s remarkable success in the sport not to mention his dominance in ATP 1000 Masters events over the years. Djokovic has won 38 of the most prestigious events outside the majors, two more than Nadal and ten more than Federer. That number is only likely to rise as he continues to be the man to beat.

The Grand Slam king’s year of dominance

The Calendar Slam of winning all four majors in a single year perhaps remains the most desirable record still left to achieve for Djokovic in the latter stages of his career. Djokovic came agonisingly close to completing the feat in 2021 but was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final. 

He missed out on becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to claim the Calendar Slam, but can still boast an enviable record of holding all the Grand Slam titles at once. After winning the French Open in 2016, Djokovic became the only male player to hold all four majors across three different surfaces following an unstoppable run of form starting at Wimbledon in 2015.

And during that remarkable run throughout 2015, Djokovic became the only player in a tennis season to beat every player in the top 10 in the rankings, such was the level of superiority he had over his rivals. 

Devastating dominance 

It has become apparent that Djokovic’s brilliance is owed largely to his staggering consistency in the biggest tournaments but the unrivalled tennis he produced across the 2011 season may never be repeated. 

Djokovic enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons in this era of tennis 12 years ago as he won three out of four Grand Slams and left Federer and Nadal in his wake. He was defeated just six times that season, with two of those defeats coming through retirement.

But if relentless Djokovic can stay fit, he will fancy his chances of adding at least two more majors to his Australian Open crown in 2023.