A year after Novak Djokovic turned pro, Roger Federer finished as world no. 1, toppling Marat Safin. In 2008, Rafael Nadal became No. 1 for the first time after winning the Wimbledon Championship. Three years later, Novak Djokovic became world no. 1, losing only to Roger Federer at the 2011 French Open. Since then, Djokovic has gained momentum and quashed records that both Federer and Nadal once had.
Novak Djokovic, who recently won his 24th Grand Slam title, reclaimed his No. 1 status after defeating Daniil Medvedev at the 2023 US Open finals, making him the joint record winner of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic is on the verge of surpassing Nadal and Federer
Novak Djokovic has been a player of the season, winning three major titles from four finals. Djokovic leads the ATP Race ahead of Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, looking good to wrap up the year inside the top-2 and pass Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
According to Tennis World USA, Novak Djokovic is in a fantastic position to leave his greatest rivals behind and become the oldest year-end top-2 player at 36 years and seven months. Federer achieved that at 36 years and four months in 2017, with Nadal passing him a year ago at 36 years and six months.
Novak missed two majors in 2022, returning to the most notable scene this year and achieving a 27-1 score at major events. The Serb conquered the Australian Open and Roland Garros before losing an epic Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
Despite that, Djokovic lifted his fourth US Open crown and the first since 2018, beating Daniil Medvedev in the final and celebrating his 24th major title. Novak kicked off the season with two titles in Australia. He saved a match point versus Sebastian Korda in Adelaide before conquering his tenth Australian Open crown with a victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Djokovic reclaimed the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic officially returned to the top of the world rankings after he completed his US Open victory to take his Grand Slam title tally to a record-equalling 24. Novak Djokovic, who became the oldest man to win the US Open in the Open era when he beat Daniil Medvedev.
The 36-year-old won his 24th Grand Slam title after beating world number three, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. After doing that, Djokovic became the world’s number one player in the men’s singles category, replacing Spain’s young tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic is the most successful men’s single player in the Open era, having won the most Grand Slams in his illustrious career. Despite all the doubts, the current world number one ended up winning three out of the four major titles this year.
Djokovic’s only defeat in a Grand Slam in 2023 came in the final of Wimbledon, when he lost to Alcaraz. As Novak Djokovic prepares hard for the Paris Masters and ATP finals in Turin, if he wins both, he will add them to the already 39 Masters title in his cabinet.
