Tipsarevic: Djokovic's goal is to pass Federer

[Obsi]

Today, Novak Djokovic has moved into outright sixth place in the list of players who have spent the most weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Djokovic has been at the top of men's professional tennis for 142 weeks, one week more than Rafael Nadal, and now he has his sights set on John McEnroe on 170 weeks.

With a 4,310 point lead over No. 2-ranked Roger Federer in the Emirates ATP Rankings, if the Serbian were to maintain his firm grip on No. 1, which he reclaimed on 7 July 2014, he would start his 171st week at No. 1 on 9 November this year.

After that only Jimmy Connors (268 weeks), Ivan Lendl (270 weeks), Pete Sampras (286 weeks) and all-time leader Federer (302 weeks) are in front of Djokovic for most weeks spent at No. 1.

WEEKS AT NO. 1
Here are the players who have ranked No. 1 for at least 100 weeks:

1. Roger Federer (SUI) 302
2. Pete Sampras (USA) 286
3. Ivan Lendl (CZE/USA) 270
4. Jimmy Connors (USA) 268
5. John McEnroe (USA) 170
6. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 142
7. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 141
8. Bjorn Borg (SWE) 109
9. Andre Agassi (USA) 101

His compatriot, Janko Tipsarevic, believes that Djokovic’s mission is far from over.

“If you ask me personally, his goal, even though it seems far from now, is to pass Federer,” Tipsarevic told ATPWorldTour.com. “I think that his goal is to be the best player of all time.

“I am so happy and proud that he has taken the sport to another level. He did it in the era ofederer and Nadal, the best tennis players in the sport’s history.

“All of a sudden this guy comes out of nowhere and raises the level even higher, when everyone thought it couldn’t go higher than these two guys.”

The statistics prove it. Although he had won the 2008 Australian Open and five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies, Djokovic’s first truly great year was in 2011, when he first became No. 1 on 4 July. Ever since, Djokovic’s business has been winning tennis matches.

Since 2011 to today’s milestone, he has compiled a 305-39 match record and won 33 of his 51 trophies to date. He has won seven of 17 Grand Slam titles and finished runner-up in another five. He has also taken home 17 trophies from of a possible 35 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments that he has contested (134-17 match record).

“He's the best tennis player at the moment,” Ferrer told ATPWorldTour.com. “He's playing with great confidence in his shots. His fitness and physique are unbelievable. He's very fast. He has everything – a very good range of shots – and is able to mentally focus on every point."

Widely considered to be one of the greatest returners and movers in history, Djokovic continues to push every other player to compete better. With Marian Vajda and Boris Becker, he has developed an ability to quickly breakdown and nullify strategy, to win when not playing at his best. These are trademarks of all great players, like Federer and Nadal, who he will battle this week in Monte-Carlo.

As a three-time year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings (2011, 2012 and 2014), the responsibility of leading men’s tennis is a source of great pride for Djokovic. Yet, off court, little has changed for the Belgrade native.

“This guy stays around the same people he grew up with,” said Tipsarevic. “You could see that on his wedding day [to Jelena on 10 July 2014]. All the people he used to hang out with and he continues to hang out with were there.

“As a person, nothing has changed one bit. Only his ranking has changed.”

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/04/15/Djokovic-142-Weeks-No-1-Emirates-ATP-Rankings.aspx

 

[Obsi]

If Djokovic stays No. 1 continuously until May 2018 he will pass Federer for most weeks at No. 1.

I think the odds are that Novak will stay number one at least until the end of 2016. The question mark is 2017 and 2018.

 

[El Dude]

Good luck. I think best-case scenario (for Novak) is that he finishes with around 250 weeks at #1, and around 15 Slams. But I'd bet more on 200 and 12-14.

 

[Federberg]

Overtaking Roger? Hmmmm....

I'm reminded of what the Serbian said in the movie 'Taken'..... good luck!

 

[Federberg]

Good luck. I think best-case scenario (for Novak) is that he finishes with around 250 weeks at #1, and around 15 Slams. But I'd bet more on 200 and 12-14.

Lol! That's freaky Dude! You must have just beat me to it. Funny we were thinking the same thing :snicker

 

[Puppet Master]

I can't believe he is that close. Wait until May 2018 and boom. He just needs to keep it up for another 160 weeks right? How hard can it be?
On a serious note, if things like this don't wake Rafa up, or Federer hopefully, nothing will. Who will take the number one ranking away from Djoker? The little samurai? Raonic? Or perhaps Murray, who will by 2018 have at least 30 loses in a row to Novak... Good lord people

 

[DarthFed]

Djokovic's game will be on its way down in the next 1.5 years, the question is will he be so far ahead that even a big slip means he is still at #1 for most of the time. 3 years from now he will be 31, a huge difference from 28.

 

[El Dude]

I can't believe he is that close. Wait until May 2018 and boom. He just needs to keep it up for another 160 weeks right? How hard can it be?
On a serious note, if things like this don't wake Rafa up, or Federer hopefully, nothing will. Who will take the number one ranking away from Djoker? The little samurai? Raonic? Or perhaps Murray, who will by 2018 have at least 30 loses in a row to Novak... Good lord people

"Little samurai" - LOL.

Anyhow, I'm not sure what you mean by "wake Federer up" - or Rafa, for that matter. Rafa has been struggling with injury and is really like +2 years in apparent age. Roger is, well, 34 in August. He's doing just fine, considering his age. Remember Andre Agassi in 2003-04? That's Roger right now age-wise.

Djokovic's game will be on its way down in the next 1.5 years, the question is will he be so far ahead that even a big slip means he is still at #1 for most of the time. 3 years from now he will be 31, a huge difference from 28.

I've been saying that Novak has through 2016 at his current level, and then 2017-18 will still be excellent but not this good, but no one will really be ready to challenge until then. So he has at 2-3 years to solidify his legacy. After that, all bets are off. So my thinking is:

#1 Ranking
2015 is a cakewalk. 2016 could be too, or at least he's the favorite. So let's add 80 weeks for those two years. After that he might still manage some, but more like 20-50 weeks. So a total of 100-150 more - just shy of Federer, but possibly in Connors/Lendl/Sampras territory.

Slam Wins
He is the favorite at two of the next three, and not far behind at the third. I think he has a good chance for another three-Slam year, although let's be safe and say 1-2 more this year. Next year, maybe 2. After that, 1-4 more? So that brings us to 4-8 more, or 12-16 total.

All things tolled, that leaves him in pretty rarified company but not quite Federer territory.

 

[Puppet Master]

And the hype around Djokovic as of now, is unreal. People are talking like he turned pro in 2011 and has swept everyone off the court since. I have seen a few comments on the ATP site, something along the lines of: Idemo Nole, the GOAT!
He does deserve praise for his achievements, but some of his fans (and some that I know personally) are getting quite arrogant.

 

[Front242]

I don't for one second think that's his goal and he knows it's a huge ask. Tipsarevic is just looking to make some media impact. I'd love to be a multi millionnaire but reality is quite far from actuality

 

[Puppet Master]

I can't believe he is that close. Wait until May 2018 and boom. He just needs to keep it up for another 160 weeks right? How hard can it be?
On a serious note, if things like this don't wake Rafa up, or Federer hopefully, nothing will. Who will take the number one ranking away from Djoker? The little samurai? Raonic? Or perhaps Murray, who will by 2018 have at least 30 loses in a row to Novak... Good lord people

"Little samurai" - LOL.

Anyhow, I'm not sure what you mean by "wake Federer up" - or Rafa, for that matter. Rafa has been struggling with injury and is really like +2 years in apparent age. Roger is, well, 34 in August. He's doing just fine, considering his age. Remember Andre Agassi in 2003-04? That's Roger right now age-wise.

Djokovic's game will be on its way down in the next 1.5 years, the question is will he be so far ahead that even a big slip means he is still at #1 for most of the time. 3 years from now he will be 31, a huge difference from 28.

I've been saying that Novak has through 2016 at his current level, and then 2017-18 will still be excellent but not this good, but no one will really be ready to challenge until then. So he has at 2-3 years to solidify his legacy. After that, all bets are off. So my thinking is:

#1 Ranking
2015 is a cakewalk. 2016 could be too, or at least he's the favorite. So let's add 80 weeks for those two years. After that he might still manage some, but more like 20-50 weeks. So a total of 100-150 more - just shy of Federer, but possibly in Connors/Lendl/Sampras territory.

Slam Wins
He is the favorite at two of the next three, and not far behind at the third. I think he has a good chance for another three-Slam year, although let's be safe and say 1-2 more this year. Next year, maybe 2. After that, 1-4 more? So that brings us to 4-8 more, or 12-16 total.

All things tolled, that leaves him in pretty rarified company but not quite Federer territory.

What I meant was to find a new decent strategy against Nole, I am not being delusional, if it can be done, it probably will, but I am afraid if none of them manage to do it. Some will probably end up saying meh, it was a weak field anyway.
Oh, and I do remember Agassi from 2003, the man who won the Australian open that year

 

[herios]

He does deserve praise for his achievements, but some of his fans (and some that I know personally) are getting quite arrogant.

It will always depend on who's side you are. If you read about fans ranting about other player than you are supporting, it will always come across as annoying.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Hey, why aim for anything less? The sentence " I want to be the best player ever...after Roger, Rafa and Pete" just sounds stupid. Give it all you got, see what happens. Nothing wrong with shooting for the stars.

 

[Puppet Master]

He does deserve praise for his achievements, but some of his fans (and some that I know personally) are getting quite arrogant.

It will always depend on who's side you are. If you read about fans ranting about other player than you are supporting, it will always come across as annoying.

I always burn myself reading those articles and comments time and time again... :cover

 

[tented]

At Novak's age, passing Roger seems like an unlikely accomplishment at this point -- not enough weeks already at No. 1 for a guy a month shy of 28. It's not impossible, given how well older players are doing in this era, but it's highly unlikely.

Someone will probably eventually surpass Federer's record of total weeks at No. 1, but the 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1 is a record which truly may never be broken. Approximately 4.5 consecutive years at No. 1 is an insane record.

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

however dominant xyz player appears to be..things can alter very quickly. as we have seen in the past.

feb 2009..nadal makes Federer cry (again) wins the AO and seems unstoppable with his fav major coming up maybe the grand slam (the proper one) could be on the cards ?. what happened..Federer wins 2 majors and reaches all four finals.

the end of 2007 Federer winning his usual 2 or 3 majors per year, then..boom. see you later alligator. 2008 goes boobs up until he claims the 2008uso.

1984. McEnroe wins 4 masters plus forest hills on clay v lendl..reaches 3 out of 3 majors contested in 84 winning 2, plus the 1984 world tour final (held jan 85)..then what ?..zero majors won and only one major final reached from 1985 onwards.

so the other side of djokovic dominating stuff..is we never know when it will end, or if after a fall weather it is permanent of weather xyz player will bounce back like nadal did in 2010 /2013..and Federer did in 09/10. etc.

 

[nehmeth]

I don't for one second think that's his goal and he knows it's a huge ask. Tipsarevic is just looking to make some media impact. I'd love to be a multi millionnaire but reality is quite far from actuality

I agree with Front, this is Tipsarevic guessing. Novak's goal as a little kid was to become #1 in the world and win Wimbledon. Done! From here on out, he's going to do his best and win out as many times as he can, until he can't anymore. That's it. End of story.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

The only positive thing in the story is that Novak is not foolish enough to say such things himself.

 

[Riotbeard]

Hey, why aim for anything less? The sentence " I want to be the best player ever...after Roger, Rafa and Pete" just sounds stupid. Give it all you got, see what happens. Nothing wrong with shooting for the stars.

This. I think it's important that Novak did not say it himself, but why set the bar any lower. Why would your overarching goal once you are arguably in the top 10 all time already. I want to be number 3 doesn't have quite the same ring...

If he doesn't do it (and he probably won't), and feels a failure than he will be a fool, but at this point, there is no reason not to have that as the overall goal.

 

[tented]

The only positive thing in the story is that Novak is not foolish enough to say such things himself.

Instead, he has Tennis Man Talking do it for him.