In the era of Federer and Nadal, I have been blessed to be No.  1 for so many weeks: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic said he feels blessed to have been No. 1 for so long in the era containing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The World No. 1, who is defending his title at Roland Garros this fortnight, beat Diego Schwartzman in straight sets to romp into the quarterfinals. Djokovic, who is into his 13th straight quarterfinal at Roland Garros, awaits the winner of the fourth-round match between 13-time champion Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In his press conference after beating Schwartzman, Djokovic said that he feels privileged to be sat atop the ATP rankings for over 370 weeks, especially in the era of Federer and Nadal.

"I have been blessed to be No. 1 that many weeks throughout my career. That was always the highest goal beginning of every season, particularly, you know, being in the era with Federer, Nadal, you know, the guys that are greats of the game. So of course that makes the success even bigger."

The Serb said the downside of being the world's top-ranked player is that he always has a target on his back.

"The downside of being No. 1 is that you are always being chased by everyone else that wants to dethrone you and wants to win against you in every single match regardless of the size or category of the tournament. So that's, you know, giving me even more motivation when I get to face guys who want to challenge me for the top spot."

The Serb added that reaching No. 1 is the pinnacle of an individual sport like tennis.

"It's really kind of a Mount Everest to climb in individual sport, particularly in this era, but where all of the top contenders for the No. 1 are playing entire season for the last 15 years, which maybe in the former generations it wasn't the case ... every point counts, every match counts. So that (makes my) achievement even greater."

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"It was very special, very emotional to clinch that title in '16" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic with his first Roland Garros title in 2016.

Novak Djokovic has a stellar record at Roland Garros, winning 85 of 100 matches.

However, the Serb has only won the title twice, first doing so in 2016 after twice coming up short against Nadal and once against Stan Wawrinka.

The World No. 1 said previous heartbreaks made his maiden triumph all the more special.

"It took me years and years to win the title here. Of course I had some big heartbreaks on the court here, many finals lost and semifinals, thrilling marathon matches, mostly against Rafa prior to 2016. Of course it was very special, very emotional to clinch that title in '16. It was a huge relief more than anything, really."

Djokovic added that Roland Garros has always been the toughest Slam for him to win.

"Somehow winning a title here is always probably the hardest of any slam for me. Last year, the second week that I had here was just probably the toughest four matches, toughest seven days I had to win any slam in my career."

Novak Djokovic is now three wins away from successfully defending his title and becoming the first male player to complete the unprecedented triple career Grand Slam.