"It’s not about humbleness, it’s a fact" – Novak Djokovic jokes about his World No. 1 record as he lists players placed below him
23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was at his witty best while participating in a recent contest. Djokovic competed against his peers in arranging players according to their time spent as World No. 1, in descending order.
The ATP hosted the fun game session to celebrate 50 years of the men's singles rankings. The points system was first introduced on August 23, 1973, and Romania's Ilie Theodoriu Nastase was the first top-ranked player.
Djokovic was joined by Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton in the game. Guessing the list's leader was not an arduous task for the participants as all of them rightly named the Serb, who has spent 389 weeks on top.
Murray, however, did it clumsily as he struggled to keep his leaderboard upright.
"I've broken it (board) and I've managed to rub his name off as well which is a good start. I better spell it right," the Brit said.
Thiem also started the game on the right foot and said:
"Number 1 is easy… Novak. He just passed also Steffi Graf. So now he is number 1 in men and women."
Medvedev failed to recall the exact number of weeks Novak Djokovic has been on top.
"I don't know exactly how many weeks right now but he has a lot," said the Russian.
Djokovic fittingly picked himself for the top spot and joked:
"It's not about humbleness... It's a fact. I'm sorry!"
Roger Federer is in the second spot, having been ranked No. 1 for 310 weeks. The Swiss Maestro won 20 Major titles in his career and was one of Djokovic's arch-rivals alongside Rafael Nadal. The Serb met Federer 50 times on the court and won 27 of those battles.
Pete Sampras follows the Swiss with 286 weeks as the top-ranked ATP player. Ivan Lendl occupies the fourth spot on the list with 270 weeks. Andy Murray expectedly guessed his coach Lendl's position correctly.
Jimmy Connors was World No. 1 for 268 weeks and he stands fifth on the all-time list, followed by Rafael Nadal (209 weeks), John McEnroe (170 weeks), Bjorn Borg (109 weeks), Andre Agassi (101 weeks) and Lleyton Hewitt (80 weeks).
Novak Djokovic emerged as the winner as he was the quickest to place all 10 players correctly. Alexander Zverev too managed to score 10 points. Murray stood third followed by Thiem, Medvedev, and Shelton.
"Surreal to be that many weeks World No. 1" - Novak Djokovic
In February, Novak Djokovic surpassed Steffi Graf's all-time record of 377 weeks as the World No. 1 tennis player.
Djokovic reached the top ranking for the first time in 2011, at the end of the Wimbledon Championships. Upon eclipsing Graf's mark, the Serb described his achievement as "surreal."
"Of course, it’s surreal in a way to be that many weeks world No 1, to match Steffi Graf, that is one of the all-time greats of our sport, both men and women. Just being amongst these legendary names is flattering. Of course, I’m very proud of it," Djokovic told reporters in Dubai earlier this year.
The Serb then expressed his desire to accomplish more, saying:
"I could not have imagined it at that point, to be honest. I was dreaming as a kid to be Wimbledon champion, to be No 1 in the world. I achieved those dreams (in) 2011. After that, of course, I wanted more. I still want more achievements."