5 unique records held by Novak Djokovic
Few tennis players in the history of the sport can match Novak Djokovic when he is at his very best, as evidenced by the number of records the Serb holds. From his number of weeks at No.1 to a very complete set of titles won and even having won three out of four Slams in a season.
The World No. 1 has achieved the feat thrice before and he has also triumphed at two out of the four Slams in a year thrice as well. No player has won more matches against the top-5 or the top-10 than the Serb, and no player has won more big titles (Slams, Masters 1000s, Year-end Championships and Olympics) than him.
But these are only a few of the stagerringly numerous records that the 34-year-old has to his name. Without further ado, here’s a look at five such unique accomplishments in Djokovic’s distinguished career:
#1 Double Career Golden Masters
Novak Djokovic is the only player to have completed the Double Career Golden Masters
Novak Djokovic is the only singles player in ATP history to have completed the Career Golden Masters, winning all nine of the Masters 1000 titles. Having won eight of the nine by 2013, the World No. 1 had to wait until 2018 to win the Cincinnati Masters and complete the set.
The Serb went one step further in 2020, triumphing in Cincinnati once again to complete the Double Career Golden Masters — winning every ATP 1000 event at least twice. The 20-time Grand Slam champion can even complete the triple by winning the Monte-Carlo Masters and Cicinnati once more.
Additionally, the 34-year-old is the only man to have won six Masters 1000 events in the same year, doing so in the 2015 season. He has also won the most number of Masters titles without dropping a set, doing so in 10 events till date.
#2 Holding all four Grand Slams and Year-end Championship simultaneously
Novak Djokovic’s 2015 season is widely regarded as probably the greatest single year in an ATP player’s career. The Serb reached all four Major finals that year, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
At Roland Garros, the World No. 1 lost to an inspired Stan Wawrinka but went on to win the year-end championship against another Swiss, Roger Federer. The 20-time Grand Slam champion continued his form the following year, triumphing once again at Melbourne Park and going one step further at the French Open.
Defeating Andy Murray in the Paris final, the 34-year-old managed to complete the non-Calendar Grand Slam — winning all four Majors on the trot, but not in the same season as conventionally required for a “Grand Slam.” With the 2015 Tour Finals title to add to that, the Serb became the first, and only, player to hold all four Slams and the Year-end Championship simultaneously.
#3 Beating all top-10 players in a single season
Novak Djokovic beat every single Top-10 player he met in 2015
Another feat Novak Djokovic achieved during his impeccable 2015 season was the unique record of beating every top-10 player he faced. The Serb finished the year with a 31-5 win/loss record against the top-10, losing to Roger Federer thrice and to Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka once each.
But the World No. 1 managed to defeat Murray six times, Federer five times and Wawrinka thrice, ensuring that he beat every player ranked within the top 10 at least once. From the year-end top-10 for 2015, only two players survived without meeting the 34-year-old when they were ranked within the top-10 — Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
But the duo fell to the Serb that year prior to their ascension, meaning that the World No. 1 also ended up beating all other top-19 players that season — the only time in ATP history. Dominic Thiem was the year-end World No. 20, but avoided meeting the 20-time Grand Slam champion throughout the year.
#4 Novak Djokovic has won the most Masters 1000 titles in ATP history
In addition to the aforementioned Double Career Golden Masters, Novak Djokovic is the player with the most Masters 1000 titles to his name. The Serb has won the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Masters five and six times respectively till date.
At the Monte-Carlo Masters, the World No. 1 has triumphed twice, while he has won Madrid and Rome on three and five occasions. Both the Rogers Cup in Canada and Shanghai Masters have witnessed the 20-time Grand Slam champion go all the way as well. In addition to his two titles at the Cincinatti Masters, the 34-year-old has won the Paris Masters six times so far.
Interestingly, the only man who has ever managed to defend their title at the Paris Masters in its 53-year history is Novak Djokovic too. The Serb has also done so twice, accomplishing the “three-peat” between 2013 and 2015.
#5 Most weeks at World No. 1
Novak Djokovic has spent more than seven years as the World No. 1 ranked player
Roger Federer’s 310 weeks atop the ATP rankings looked unbeatable, but Novak Djokovic has left the Swiss in the dust since then. As of Monday (11 April 2022), the Serb has spent 365 weeks as the World No. 1, an entire year more than the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
The 365-week stint means that the 34-year-old has spent more than seven whole years as the top-ranked ATP player, making up more than one-third of his time as a professional player. The all-time record is currently held by German legend Steffi Graf, who has been ranked World No. 1 for 377 weeks in total but it is likely that Djokovic will overtake her this year.
To add to that, the 20-time Grand Slam champion has been ranked as the year-end World No. 1 on seven occasions till date, more than anyone in ATP history.
