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Novak Djokovic on Monday achieved another historic milestone in his career, overtaking Steffi Graf's record for most weeks by a men's or women's tennis player as World No 1.
The Serbian already held the record for the most weeks as No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings when he surpassed Roger Federer's mark of 310 weeks in March 2021. Now he has moved past Graf by beginning his 378th week on top of tennis mountain. His current spell at world number 1 began last month after he clinched his 10th Australian Open title win in January. Graf's 377 weeks at the peak of the WTA Rankings began in 1987, including spending all of 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, and 1996 as the women's world number 1. Although Djokovic's personal record streak is only 122 weeks, from July 2014 to November 2016, he will never match the German's 186-week run at the top of the women's charts, which occurred from August 1987 to March 1991. "Of course with your love and great strength that you have given me over the years, I've managed to achieve many fantastic achievements throughout my career," Djokovic said in a video posted on his official Instagram handle. "The most recent one [is] breaking the record [with] 378 weeks on No. 1 [in the] rankings, surpassing one of the greatest, most legendary tennis players -- both men and women -- that ever played, Steffi Graf. So I'm flattered, obviously extremely, extremely proud and happy for this achievement," he added. The 35-year-old, who is taking part in the Dubai Tennis Championships this week, reached the top of the ATP Rankings for the first time on July 4, 2011, when he was 24 years and 43 days old. Between July 7, 2014, and November 6, 2016, he spent a personal-best 122 consecutive weeks there. Only 28 players have ever held the top rank in the ATP Rankings' history, including Djokovic. For the eighth time in a row (he also won the title in 2011-12, 2014-15, 18 and 20), he concluded the year as the top player. Graf, who first reached the top of the female rankings in 1987, finished her career with 107 victories, including 22 Grand Slam titles. (ANI)
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