Can Novak Djokovic break Roger Federer’s record of total weeks as World No. 1?

With Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the 2018 Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic is going to reclaim the world number 1 ranking after a gap of almost two years. He had relinquished his number 1 ranking to Andy Murray on 7 November, 2016 and now on 5 November 2018, he will get back to the top of the rankings once again.

As of now, Djokovic has been world number 1 for a total of 223 weeks. And he will get a chance to add a significant number of weeks this time around to his stint at number 1.

Djokovic’s total weeks at number 1 are higher than that of Rafael Nadal who has been number 1 for 196 weeks. But it’s significantly fewer than Roger Federer, who has enjoyed his place at the top of the rankings for a whopping 310 weeks. Moreover, Federer has the incredible record of being at number one for 237 consecutive weeks.

When the Swiss maestro first reached the world number one position in his career on 2 February, 2004, he held on to that position for 237 weeks till Nadal dethroned him from that position on 18 August, 2008.

It’s said that records are meant to be broken. But then there are some records which seem almost impossible to break. Federer holding on to the world number one ranking for 237 consecutive weeks is one such record.

Federer's record of total number weeks as world number 1 may be at threat from Djokovic

To achieve such a record, one has to not only be the most dominant player in the world on almost all surfaces for about four and a half years, but also remain injury-free so that he can produce high-quality tennis day in and day out. Federer did all that.

He dominated everybody on all surfaces, the only glitch being his losses at French Open, where he failed to win the title only because of the presence of the greatest clay court player of all time – Rafael Nadal. But he did manage to win prestigious Masters events on clay.

The magnitude of such an achievement can be gauged from the fact that the next highest number of consecutive weeks at number one is at 160, held by Jimmy Connors in the 1970s, which is 77 weeks less than that of Federer.

In more recent times, we can have a look at Djokovic’s domination from 2011 to 2016. But even in these six years when Djokovic dominated the world of tennis, he had to relinquish that position to other players such as Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray in between.

The maximum number of consecutive weeks that Djokovic has been world number one is 122 weeks which is much higher than Nadal’s (56), but significantly less than that of Federer.

So, it is hard to imagine Djokovic getting anywhere close to Federer’s record of consecutive weeks at number one. He is already 31 and it is improbable that he could continue to remain number one for more than four years, thwarting the opposition time and again. However, if he continues his form and fitness, there is a possibility of him overtaking Federer in terms of the total number of weeks at number one.

Federer has been world number one for a total of 310 weeks. It’s unlikely he will add to that total, given his age and selective scheduling where he skips quite a few tournaments. Djokovic has been world number one for a total of 223 weeks, and needs to be in that position for 88 more weeks, which is about a year and eight months.

Whenever Djokovic has reached the number one ranking, he has usually held on to it for a relatively long period of time. In his three stints at number one, the fewest number of consecutive weeks he held on to that position is 48 weeks and the highest is 122 weeks.

There is no reason why he cannot have a long stint as world number one again. Federer is on the wane and could retire in the near future. Nadal is ravaged by injuries. The Next-Gen stars are yet to come into their own – they have not managed to win a single Grand Slam yet.

It’s highly likely that this time, Djokovic will remain number one long enough to surpass Federer’s record for the most weeks at that position, though he may never come close to breaking the Swiss maestro’s record of consecutive weeks at number 1.