Tennis star Novak Djokovic is playing in Monte Carlo this week. Before the first serve, he achieved the next milestone.
Although Novak Djokovic’s birthday isn’t until May 22, the Serbian celebrated early on Sunday. At 36 years and 321 days old, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is now the oldest Number 1 in tennis history, breaking the previous record held by Roger Federer. The Swiss last led the ATP rankings in 2018 before his retirement.
Surpassing Federer multiple times
Djokovic is not only the oldest World Number 1 in history, but also holds the record for the most weeks (419) at the top. He had surpassed Federer’s record of 310 weeks some time ago.
Additionally, Djokovic holds the record for the most seasons finishing as Number 1, having ended the year as the world’s best tennis player eight times.
The “Djoker” first claimed the tennis throne on July 4, 2011, at the age of 24, after celebrating his first Wimbledon victory against Rafael Nadal the day before.
This week, unlike Nadal, Djokovic will compete at the clay court tournament in Monte Carlo. Nadal announced a few days before the tournament began that he would need to continue his break.
“As a tennis fan, I want him (Nadal) to play at least one more tournament before he retires. We even traveled to the USA together and saw each other at Indian Wells,” Djokovic explained before the start of the tournament in Monte Carlo to Eurosport.
“We all know what he has achieved at Roland Garros, and that is obviously his main goal. We all hope he can play there,” said the Serb about his long-time rival.
