“Historic Achievement’: Novak Djokovic Reflects on Surpassing Roger Federer’s Elite Record

Over the past decade, eighteen-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic has been one of the most dominant players in the men’s game. During this period, the Serb has cemented his name in the history books of the sport. He has managed to create an identity for himself amongst the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.  

Recently, Novak Djokovic broke yet another milestone. He surpassed his arch-rival Roger Federer in holding the number one ranking in the game for the most number of weeks by any player. He even considered this feat as one of his greatest achievements in his career so far. 

The recently crowned Australian Open champion stated, “The historic achievement was of course very fulfilling for me, for my family. It’s probably the biggest achievement I’ve had in my career. It’s an accumulation of all the years of success and hard work… I was very happy to be able to stay close to my family and share the joy with them.”

Novak Djokovic was happy to receive support for his achievement

Due to the ongoing pandemic, it was not possible for large gatherings to be organized to celebrate the tennis star’s achievement. However, there were still a number of supporters that showed up. Djokovic expressed his gratitude for the support he received and thanked the people of Serbia for recognizing his success. 

The 33-year-old further added, “Even though the restrictions were such that we couldn’t make maybe more of the celebrations… But nevertheless, a lot of people showed up on the streets and at one point it was also a bit uncomfortable being in such a crowd. I’m very thankful to the city of Belgrade and the country of Serbia for creating special events during that day to acknowledge the success. It was definitely a very special day that will stay forever in my heart.”

Djokovic won his ninth Australian Open title this season

Djokovic won his ninth Australian Open title in Melbourne this season. In doing so, he took his Grand Slam count to 18 titles and is two shy of equalling the tally of the two legends of the game, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. 

The Swiss maestro returned to Tour after more than a year. He competed at the ATP Doha Open 2021 and has not featured in any event since then. He intends to resume his season on the clay courts at the Madrid Masters in May. 

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