Tennis: Novak Djokovic breaks Steffi Graf’s world number one record
Novak Djokovic has surpassed Steffi Graf for the most weeks as world number one with his 378th week at the summit of the men’s charts.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner equalled Graf’s long-standing record of 377 last week and currently sits 200 points clear of world number two Carlos Alcaraz at the top.
Djokovic has not taken to the court since winning the Australian Open for the 10th time in January, and he boasts a total of 6,980 points compared to Alcaraz’s 6,780.
Alcaraz would have gone level with Djokovic had he won the Rio Open, but the 19-year-old lost to British number one Cameron Norrie in Sunday’s final and would have remained behind Djokovic courtesy of Grand Slam, ATP Finals and mandatory tournament results.
“It’s surreal in a way to be that many weeks world number one, to match Steffi Graf, who is one of the all-time greats of our sport, both men and women. Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering. I’m very proud of it,” Djokovic told reporters after breaking the record.
The 35-year-old – who first became world number one in July 2011 – has won 22 major honours during his glittering career, the same number that Graf achieved between 1987 and 1999.
Djokovic returns to action at the Dubai Tennis Championships this week as the top seed, and he will face Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in round one on Tuesday.
