Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic (Anadolu)
ISTANBUL – Novak Djokovic achieved yet another milestone in his glittering career by overtaking Steffi Graf’s record of most weeks as the world’s top-ranked tennis player.
“The Serbian already held the record for the most weeks as No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (since 1973) when he surpassed Roger Federer’s mark of 310 weeks in March 2021,” read an ATP statement on Monday.
“Now he has moved past Graf by beginning his 378th week on top of tennis’ mountain,” it added.
Djokovic is currently on 6,980 points in the ATP Rankings, returning to the summit last month for the first time since last June by claiming his 10th Australian Open title.
He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to clinch the record-extending championship win.
After Djokovic and Graf, the players with most weeks as No. 1 are Martina Navratilova (332 weeks), Serena Williams (319 weeks) and Roger Federer (310 weeks).
Graf, a tennis great, had 377 weeks as the top-ranked women’s player by the time she retired in 1999.
The Germany bagged 22 Grand Slam titles in her 16-year professional tennis career.
She is still the only player to win a Golden Slam, achieving the feat in 1988 as she won all four majors – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open – and the Olympic gold in Seoul. (Anadolu)
