On March 30, 1997, one of Steffi Gtaf‘s greatest records came to an end. The German was relieved at the top of the WTA rankings by Martina Hingis.
She left a figure of 377 weeks of domination that seemed to last for a long time.
The top spot had been kept for 26 years until Novak Djokovic came along and took it away. The Serb has now reached 378 weeks at the top of the men’s tour.
It is the umpteenth of his personal records for the history of the sport of tennis.
His recent Australian Open title equalled Rafael Nadal‘s 22 Grand Slam crowns in the men’s category. His double title haul is unprecedented on the courts of Melbourne Park.
He also has a record number of points in a season. It was in the 2015 campaign when Djokovic set a record that will never be equalled again. He accumulated 16,785 points thanks to 11 titles: Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Wimbledon, US Open, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris-Bercy and Masters Cup.
Best start to a season is another record of his. The Belgrade colossus went on to win the first 41 matches of the 2011 season until he lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
Djokovic is the only player to have won all nine Masters 1000. In fact, he has done so on at least two occasions. In 2015 he won six of the nine.
He is the longest reigning champion with ten majors over the age of thirty. The diet and routines that the tennis player from Belgrade follows out of competition are paying off. In Australia, he won his tenth Grand Slam title over the age of thirty, at the age of 35 years and 252 days.
Djokovic has won the ATP Masters Cup a total of six times, equalling Federer‘s record.
Another record that stands out in Djokovic‘s career is that he has won 1,043 out of 1,249 matches played. That gives a success rate of 83.5 per cent. Nadal is second in that ranking with 1,068 wins to 220 losses, which means a success rate of 82.9 per cent.
He is the leader in titles among active tennis players. The triumph at the Australian Open allowed Djokovic to break the tie with Nadal in the total number of tournaments won. It is 93 for the Serb and 92 for the Spaniard. Djokovic remains as the most awarded active player and is ahead of Jimmy Connors‘ 109 titles, Federer‘s 103 and Ivan Lendl‘s 94.
