The 32-year-old ace tennis player Novak Djokovic has regained the No. 1 position in the ATP rankings after defending his title at 2020 Australian Open. On Sunday, Djokovic outplayed his Austrian opponent, Dominic Thiem, in an epic five-setter 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Australian Open final and clinched his 17th Grand Slam title. Moreover, Djokovic was crowned in Melbourne for a record-extending 8th time. It also marked the first time that the Serbian star has come back from two sets to one down in a Grand Slam final.
With this victory, the consistent tennis champion Novak Djokovic is all set to hunt down all-time slam titles leader Roger Federer. In the race for the most ‘Big Titles,’ Djokovic has now registered 56 Big Titles to his name as compared to 54 each for Federer and Nadal.
After the glorious win at the Australian Open final, he expressed his desire to bag more titles, breaking Federer’s Grand Slam haul record. Djokovic said, “When I started winning a couple of grand slams a year, a few years in a row, that's where I felt actually, I can maybe challenge Roger and Pete Sampras, all these guys that were winning most grand slams in their careers in the history of tennis”.
"The No.1 (record) was not really in the equation for me until I successfully finished as the year-end No.1 for several years in a row”, he added.
"But that's one of the two biggest goals, for sure. There is no secret in that”, he further mentioned.
Djokovic grabbed his first slam 12 years ago in Melbourne, thrashing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Since then, he has continued to showcase his prowess in Australian Open and used it as a platform to build one of the great tennis careers.
The super Serb will enter 276th week in the top ranking, with only Pete Sampras (286 weeks at No. 1), and Federer (310 weeks) ahead of him. He is most likely to surpass his rivals with a 20th or 21st career major at the 2021 Australian Open. If he keeps a strong hold over No.1 position, he can succeed in beating Federer’s record for retaining the top spot for most weeks.
