Nole took the tennis scepter in 2011. Recently only Medvedev and Alcaraz had managed to oust him, but the Serbian had always returned to the top for a total of 428 weeks in 10 different periods
Giuseppe Di Giovanni
June 4, 2024 (changed at 5.45pm) – MILAN
In the summer of 2011, the one in which Novak Djokovic became the 25th number 1 in the history of the ATP ranking, Jannik Sinner was not even 10 years old and would never have thought that 13 years later he would have snatched the scepter of the best player in the world from the most strong in the history of the game. Nole, who was world number 1 for 428 weeks and for 10 different periods, may perhaps never return to the top of the rankings.
Nole robot
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On 4 July 2011, after 7 years of alternating between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic became world number 1 for the first time. He achieves this during a monstrous season, perhaps the best by a single athlete in the history of tennis. A streak of 41 consecutive victories, many of them outclassing Nadal, propels him into the stratosphere. There the nickname Robot Nole was born: he lost for the first time in 2011 at Roland Garros, in the semi-final against Roger Federer. But in that season Djoker left crumbs to his opponents (70 wins and 6 defeats) and that’s where the Big Three were born.
eight times
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Among the endless records of the legendary Serbian champion, there is also that of having finished the season at the top of the rankings 8 times. It happened 4 times out of 5 between 2011 and 2015 and on another 4 occasions between 2018 and 2023. Many thought it would happen again this year: Nole has time to recover, but the disastrous start to the season and the avalanche of points that he will have to defend between Wimbledon and the US Open, suggest that the Serbian would already have a bargain in qualifying for the Finals.
the numbers
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To give an idea of what Djokovic has been in the ATP rankings, it is enough to mention who is second in terms of longevity at the top of the rankings. That Roger Federer who with 310 weeks is more than 2 years behind the Serbian. And Roger, who between 2004 and 2008 set the record of 237 consecutive weeks as number 1, has rarely seen the top of the ranking since Nole became Robot. In recent years, both Medvedev (June 2022) and Alcaraz (on several occasions at the beginning of last season) had managed to overthrow him. But Novak has always taken back the throne: this time, however, another great feat is needed to return number 1. And this Djokovic seems totally drained.
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the defeats
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If the semi-final of the Australian Open in which Sinner had almost humiliated him had nevertheless seemed acceptable given his opponent’s moment of form, the falls in Indian Wells against Nardi, at the Foro Italico with Tabilo and in Geneva with Machac, made everyone think that for the first time in 14 years, defeat for Djokovic is no longer an exception. The forfeit in Paris, after two victories as desperate as they were iconic against Musetti and Cerundolo who wrote new pages in his legendary history, may represent the definitive swansong. But Sinner knows that he will have to be worthy of the greatest number 1 ever to be compared to such an iconic champion.
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