Djokovic eclipses Federer's record as world's top tennis player

Novak Djokovic set a record on Monday of 311 weeks as world number one.

The 33-year-old Serb surpassed Roger Federer's mark of 310 two weeks after claiming his 18th Grand Slam tournament title at the Australian Open.

With Federer turning 40 in August, Djokovic, who is a year younger than Rafael Nadal, has time to overhaul their record haul of 20 Grand Slam crowns.

"It really excites me to walk the path of legends and giants of this sport," said Djokovic in a statement released by the ATP which runs the men's professional circuit.

"To know that I earned my place among them by following my childhood dream is a beautiful confirmation that when you do things out of love and passion, everything is possible."

Djokovic has spent 88 weeks at number one, across two different stints. He reclaimed the top ranking from Nadal in February 2020 and finished as year-end number one for the sixth time, tying the record set by Pete Sampras.

Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP chairman, said: "Novak's many achievements in tennis are nothing short of extraordinary. Among them this record may stand as his single most impressive.

Goal
"Reaching number one is something many players dream of and very few ever accomplish, and to have held the top spot for longer than anyone is testament to the levels of sustained excellence that Novak has redefined in our sport."

Federer, who returns to action in Doha this week after more than a year out of action to recover from two knee operations, slipped out of the top five on Monday to sixth. His place was taken by Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Djokovic made his top 100 debut in July 2005. He was top 50 in June 2006, top 20 for the first time in October 2006 and top 10 by March 2007.

He first became world number one at the age of 24 on 4 July  2011, the day after winning Wimbledon for the first time, beating Nadal in the final.

His ranking fell in 2017 to 22 during a six-month injury absence. But he was back at number one again by November 2018. He stayed in post for a year until Nadal knocked him off the perch for 13 weeks.

But since February 2020, Djokovic has reigned supreme.