Fans became quite disappointed when World No.1 Novak Djokovic decided to withdraw from the Cincinnati Masters 2021. He last played at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 where he failed to grab a medal for his nation. However, despite that, the Serbian legend has had a phenomenal season so far.

If Novak Djokovic remains the World No.1 player at the end of the 2021 season, he’ll achieve the feat for the seventh time. Interestingly, it will be an ATP record as no other player has been able to end the year as the World No.1 for more than six times.

In a recent interview with the ATP Tour, former World No.1 Andy Murray hailed Djokovic and claimed that it is incredible that he is on the verge of achieving the milestone.

“What all those guys have been doing has been amazing. To finish No. 1 also not playing loads of events as well I think is really impressive. There’s not much you can say about what those guys have done. It’s incredible. They’ve totally dominated the sport. Their drive and love for the game is obviously unbelievably high and mentally I think is the hardest part,” said Murray.

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Murray highlighted that it is really tough to end the year as the World No.1 player even a single time. He stated that in order to do so, one has to be consistent throughout the year.

“Winning one tournament is difficult. It’s for sure hard to do that. But for me to get to No. 1, I had to win the last five or six tournaments in a row on top of all the events that came before that. To do it for a whole season is extremely difficult,” added the British player.

“It’s impressive”- Andy Murray on the upcoming record of Novak Djokovic

Murray stated that it is really great that Djokovic can end the year as the World No.1 for the seventh time. However, he also remarked that even when he was not able to end the year as the No.1 player, he played some fabulous tennis and managed to remain inside the top three rankings.

“[For Novak] to do that seven times to get to No. 1 [is impressive], but if you look at his other years they’re not too shabby either. There are a lot of No. 2 and No. 3 finishes and winning Slams and winning lots of events in those years as well, so it’s impressive,” concluded the 3-time Grand Slam champion.

Andy Murray is clearly impressed with Novak Djokovic. He is currently playing at the Cincinnati Masters 2021 and will next face Hubert Hurkacz in the pre-quarters. Will Murray be able to lift the title in Cincinnati this year?

Also Read: Andy Murray Reflects on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic’s Absence at Cincinnati Open 2021