Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic broke Swiss tennis player Roger Federer’s record for most weeks ranked No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) when rankings were released on Monday (March 08).

Djokovic’s latest top ranking is the 311th of his career, while Federer held the previous record at 310. Djokovic has now held the ATP’s top ranking for 36 consecutive weeks dating back to February, 2020, and is in his fifth separate stint as world No. 1.

“It really excites me to walk the path of legends and giants of this sport,” Djokovic said per the ATP Tour.” To know that I have earned my place among them by following my childhood dream is a beautiful confirmation that when you do things out of love and passion, everything is possible.”

Djokovic first achieved a No. 1 ranking in July of 2011 when he was just 24 years old. At that point, Federer had three weeks ranked No. 1 under his belt, and it has been a back-and-forth race between the two players ever since.

However, at 33 years of age, Djokovic has surpassed Federer’s record at a much faster pace than Federer was able to set it. Federer, who was ranked No. 6 in the recent rankings, would now face an uphill battle in an attempt to take back the record at 39 years of age.

Federer was last ranked No. 1 in June of 2018. Since then, Djokovic has been ranked No. 1 on 14 separate weeks, including each of the last five to tie and now surpass Federer’s record._Agencies