5 ATP players who have spent the most consecutive weeks as World No. 1

It was on 23 August 1973 that the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) published the first computerized system of ranking all the singles players in the world. The rankings for doubles, meanwhile, were first released on 1 March 1976.

Ilie Nastase of Romania was the first ATP singles World No. 1, whereas Bob Hewitt of South Africa was the first doubles World No. 1. Prior to 1973, there was no standardized ranking system in place, and players were ranked subjectively by different tennis magazines, journalists and experts.

26 singles players have been ranked World No. 1 in the 35 years since inception of the rankings, with Chilean Marcelo Rios the only player to ascend to the top despite not having won a Grand Slam tournament.

Of the 26 players who have been ranked World No. 1, 17 of them have gone on to finish the year as the top-ranked player. The current World No. 1 is 14-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Here, we look at five players who have held the World No. 1 ranking for the most weeks consecutively:

#5 Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras with his great rival and friend Andre Agassi - together they dominated tennis in the 1990s

'Pistol' Pete Sampras was one of the greatest grasscourt players of all time, and he ushered in an era dominated by Americans like himself and fellow countrymen Andre Agassi and Jim Courier.

In the 1970s and 1980s, American women like Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert dominated the women's field. In the 1990s, it was the turn of the men to do so.

Sampras was ranked the year-end World No. 1 on six consecutive occasions (1993 to 1998 inclusive) - an all-time record. Between 15 April 1996 to 28 March 1998, Sampras was the number 1 ranked player without any interruption - that is, for a total of 102 consecutive weeks.

During this period, he won four Grand Slam titles. In all, Sampras was the top-ranked player in the world for a total of 286 weeks.

#4 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic - 14-time Grand Slam winner

One of the most technically sound players that the game has ever seen, Novak Djokovic was the first man from Serbia to reach World No. 1 in the ATP rankings. He achieved this feat in the year 2011 - the same year during in which he modified his diet and exercise regimen to win three of the four Grand Slam titles.

2011 was the year of Djokovic, as even the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were forced to take a backseat.

Armed with possibly the best service return of all time, Djokovic's game is suited to all court surfaces. He has had four stints at the top of the ATP charts, but his most fecund spell came during his third stint at the top.

Between 7 July 2014 to 6 November 2016, Djokovic was the Number 1 player in the world without a break - for a period of 122 consecutive weeks.

Djokovic won five Grand Slam tournaments during this time, including all four Grand Slams at the same time (a feat last achieved by Rod laver) - from 2015 Wimbledon to 2016 Roland Garros.

The current World No. 1, Djokovic has spent a total of 229 weeks at the top till date.

#3 Ivan Lendl

Ivan Lendl - 8-time Grand Slam inner

Ivan Lendl's story is one of pure grit and determination, and a lot can be learned from his success on tour. His career is inspirational in many ways, but what truly makes his career special is that his first Grand Slam triumph came after he had finished runner-up on four different occasions.

Lendl won eight Grand Slam titles and 94 singles titles overall, and stood at the top of the ATP rankings for a total period of 270 weeks. He had as many as eight stints at the top of the ATP rankings, starting from 1983 and culminating in 1990.

The Czech's longest stay at the summit of the rankings was from 5 September 1985 to 11 September 1988 - just over three years. During this spell, Lendl won six of his eight Grand Slam titles.

Lendl's longest consecutive period at the top lasted 157 weeks.

#2 Jimmy Connors

American Jimmy Connors won 109 Singles titles and 1256 singles matches - both Open Era records

With 109 career ATP singles titles, American Jimmy Connors has achieved more success on the tour than any other player before or after him.

Connors had nine stints at the top of the ATP rankings from 1974 to 1983. And his first ascent to the summit proved to be the longest of all.

The third player to be ranked ATP World No. 1, Connors was also the first American to rise to the top of the rankings. The eight-time Grand Slam champion was World No. 1 for a then record 160 consecutive weeks between 29 July 1974 to 22 August 1977.

He held this record for over three decades. During this stretch, he won the US Open twice and also the ATP Tour Finals twice.

In all, Connors was World No. 1 for 268 weeks - fourth in the all-time list.

#1 Roger Federer

A young Federer with the 2004 US Open Trophy

No surprises whatsoever as to which player has held on to the top spot for the most consecutive weeks.

Between 2004 and 2007, Roger Federer dominated men's tennis like no other player ever has. At his peak, Federer won 11 of 16 Grand Slam titles on offer, including winning at least three Majors in three different years - 2004, 2006 and 2007.

It wasn't until the Spaniard Rafael Nadal started playing well on surfaces other than clay in 2007 that Federer began to get tested. The period from 2004 to 2007 was completely a one-man show as Federer won a vast majority of the tournaments that he competed in.

Since rising to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time on 2 February 2004, Federer stayed there till 17 August 2008 - when his bete-noire Nadal became the first player other than Federer to be ranked number one in over four and a half years.

That dominant spell of Federer's went on for a staggering 237 consecutive weeks, which is the record for both men and women.