Twenty-time Grand Slam Novak Djokovic defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals of the 2021 Paris Masters. Despite losing the opening set, Djokovic sealed the victory in a closely contested third-set tiebreaker.

With the victory, the Serbian has assured himself of ending the season as the World No.1 for a historic seventh time in his career. Djokovic has now broken Pete Sampras’ record of finishing as the year-end No.1 six times.

Novak Djokovic clinches year-end No.1 ranking

The 34-year-old has finished as the year-end No.1 in seven of the last 11 seasons, which speaks volumes about his dominance over the past decade. He has attained the feat in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, and now in 2021.

His arch-rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, stand at the third position on the list – having ended as the year-end No.1 five times in their career.

After Djokovic added another record to his list of achievements, Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou expressed his admiration for the Serbian’s fighting spirit.

Interestingly, Twitter went berserk after Djokovic secured the year-end No.1 for the seventh time. Fans have been congratulating Djokovic over his historic feat, hailing him as the ‘greatest player of all time’.

After ousting Hurkacz, Djokovic has reached a record 54th Masters 1000 final. On Sunday, he would aim to win a record-breaking 37th Masters 1000 crown. Up next, Djokovic faces either Daniil Medvedev or Alexander Zverev in the final of the Paris Masters.

The 2021 season has arguably been Djokovic’s greatest season ever. In fact, this season would rank as one of the greatest seasons by any tennis player in history. The Serbian won three consecutive Grand Slam titles this year and was just a win away from achieving the Calendar Grand Slam.

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