Novak Djokovic ties Federer in weeks at No. 1; Gauff up to No. 38

Novak Djokovic is gaining on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam standings, and he's already caught Federer in another significant statistic

Novak Djokovic
AP Washington
3 min read Last Updated : Mar 01 2021 | 11:23 PM IST

Novak Djokovic is gaining on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam standings, and he's already caught Federer in another significant statistic: As of Monday, Djokovic has been No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a total of 310 weeks.

That equals Federer's career record for most time spent atop the rankings. And no matter what happens over the next week, Djokovic is assured of breaking Federer's mark on March 8.

Pete Sampras is third on the list, with 286 weeks.

Djokovic's Australian Open championship last month gave the 33-year-old from Serbia 18 Grand Slam singles trophies. Only Federer and Nadal, each with 20, have more.

Getting to that milestone for No. 1 weeks is going to be a relief for me, because I'm going to focus all my attention on Slams, mostly, Djokovic said after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final at Melbourne Park.

When you are going for No. 1 rankings, you kind of have to be playing the entire season, and you have to be playing well; you have to play all the tournaments. My goals will adapt and will shift a little bit.

There was no movement in the ATP's Top 10 on Monday.

But if current No. 3 Medvedev reaches the final at the hard-court tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, that concludes Sunday, he would overtake Nadal and move up to a career-high No. 2.

That would make Medvedev the first man other than Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Andy Murray to be first or second since International Tennis Hall of Fame electee Lleyton Hewitt was No. 2 behind Federer in July 2005.

Two big jumps this week came from tournament champions. Alexei Popyrin, a 21-year-old from Australia, rose 32 places to 82nd by winning the trophy in Singapore, and Juan Manuel Cerundolo, a 19-year-old from Argentina, went up 154 spots to 181st by collecting the Cordona Open title. It was Cerundolo's debut in a tour-level event.

Reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek added a second career tour-level title at the Adelaide International, which allowed her to move up three spots to a career-high No. 15 in the WTA rankings.

There were no changes above her. Ash Barty is still No. 1, followed by Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Sofia Kenin and Elina Svitolina.

American teenager Coco Gauff, who turns 17 on March 13, rose from No. 52 to a career-best No. 38 by making it to the semifinals in Adelaide after going through qualifying.

With Shelby Rogers going from No. 53 to No. 49 by reaching the quarterfinals in Adelaide, she and Gauff give the United States 11 women in the Top 50 for the first time since 2003.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

Topics :Novak DjokovicTennisRoger Federer

First Published: Mar 01 2021 | 11:17 PM IST

Next Story