Tennis legend Paul McNamee has hailed Novak Djokovic’s latest “remarkable achievement,” with the Serbian set to extend his reign as the oldest No 1 in ATP history.
Having recently overtaken Roger Federer as the oldest player to ever be world No 1 – across either the men’s or women’s games – recent results mean his time at the top will continue.
Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from his Madrid Open quarter-final means it is now all but impossible that he can replace the Serbian at the top spot before the French Open later this month.
While Carlos Alcaraz’s loss in the last eight of his home Masters 1000 event means that he has lost even further ground, with the world No 3 set to be over 2,500 points behind Djokovic when the rankings update next week.
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All that means Djokovic will be No 1 on May 22nd – when the 24-time Grand Slam champion celebrates his 37th birthday, just before his Roland Garros title defence.
Federer was aged 36 when he was last world No 1 in 2018, while Serena Williams was the oldest WTA No 1 in WTA history, aged 35 in 2017.
A long-time supporter of Djokovic, Australian McNamee – a five-time doubles major winner and former No 1 in that discipline – took to social media to congratulate the Serbian.
He said: “After all Novak Djokovic has been through, including in my country, which would have broken many athletes, let’s give credit where credit is due… being #1 turning 37 years of age is a remarkable achievement.”
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Recent results mean that Djokovic is not only going to be the first 37-year-old to be world No 1 but will also extend his reign as the longest-reigning No 1 in ATP history.
He currently has spent 423 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, first holding the top spot in July 2011, and having spent the last 34 weeks as No 1 after regaining the ranking following his US Open victory last September.
Though there will be rankings pressure on him across Roland Garros and also Wimbledon – where he reached the final in 2023 – it is not impossible to imagine Djokovic reaching 450 weeks as No 1.
With fewer points to defend over the next two months, Sinner has a fairly strong chance of usurping him.
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But doubts currently circle over the world No 2’s fitness after sustaining a hip injury during his Madrid campaign.
After missing Madrid, Djokovic is set to return at the Italian Open next week, where he reached the quarter-final 12 months ago.
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It will be his second clay event of 2024, after reaching the last four in Monte Carlo.
