Novak Djokovic: will he hit 400-week milestone as No. 1 and be year-end No. 1 ahead of Carlos Alcaraz?
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Published 19/10/2023 at 10:10 GMT
Novak Djokovic is approaching another milestone of 400 weeks as world No. 1. Will he get there, and will he finish as year-end No. 1 ahead of Carlos Alcaraz? Djokovic is currently top of the world rankings and has a sizable lead ahead of the Paris Masters and Nitto ATP Finals. However, the battle for year-end No. 1 is closer and could come down to the ATP Finals.
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With the most Grand Slam singles titles (24), most Masters titles (39) and most weeks as world No. 1 (395), there aren’t that many records left for Novak Djokovic to break.
However, another significant milestone could be on the horizon. Djokovic is currently five weeks away from celebrating his 400th week as world No. 1.
He can reach the landmark in the week of November 20. But will he get there?
Djokovic is already well clear in terms of most weeks spent as world No. 1. Roger Federer is second in the all-time men’s list with 310 weeks, while Steffi Graf leads the all-time women’s list with 377 weeks.
But Djokovic shows no signs of stopping. He regained the world No. 1 ranking at the US Open, and despite not playing in China over the last few weeks, has not seen his lead cut too much.
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz had the chance to eat into Djokovic’s advantage as he played at the China Open and the Shanghai Masters. But Alcaraz was beaten in the semi-finals of the China Open and then lost in the last 16 in Shanghai, which only saw him gain 90 points.
Even though Djokovic has dropped 500 points after his 2022 Astana Open win fell off his ranking, he still leads Alcaraz by 2,240 points. That is a sizable advantage with just a month of the season remaining.
“If I want to be No. 1, I have a few tournaments ahead so I will try to do my best,” Alcaraz said after his loss to Grigor Dimitrov in Shanghai.
“I will try to win them if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1. I don't know, but right now I have lost a lot of opportunities to make it."
Djokovic has 2,100 points to defend across the last two events of the season in Paris and Turin, while Alcaraz only has 180 points to defend.
Will Alcaraz finish as year-end No. 1 again?
While Alcaraz has plenty of ground to make up in the rankings, the year-end No. 1 battle is closer.
Alcaraz finished as year-end No. 1 last season and still has a chance to overhaul Djokovic, who is bidding for a record-extending eighth year-end No. 1.
The year-end No. 1 battle in the Race to Turin standings is tight, with Djokovic on 8,945 points and Alcaraz is on 8,445 points.
Alcaraz could have drawn level with Djokovic if he had won the ATP 500 Swiss Indoors next week, but he has pulled out due to injury.
His only chances now will be at the final Masters event of the season in Paris, and the Nitto ATP Finals.
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Alcaraz says he has 'lost a lot of opportunities' to return to No. 1 after Dimitrov loss
The year-end No. 1 ranking could be decided at the ATP Finals, where Djokovic and Alcaraz are set to be the top two seeds and there will be 1,500 points up for grabs.
Djokovic is set to return at the tournament after not playing on tour since winning the US Open.
Eurosport expert Alex Corretja thinks Djokovic can go straight back into form at his next tournaments despite his recent break.
"I think Djokovic is the master of the calendar because he knows exactly what he needs to do in every moment," he told Eurosport.
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“But in order to do that, you need to know your body, you need to know your game. You need to know exactly where is your pick, at which moments.
"So I think Novak does that very well, but at the same time, it's very difficult because it's not easy not to compete a month and a half and then show up and be ready to do that.
“You need to accept the situation the first few days, that maybe you don't feel as good because the other players, they've been playing a lot and you being home - even if you are practising - is different."
Alcaraz did not play the ATP Finals last year due to injury.
Djokovic still has ‘thirst’ for more – Tsitsipas
While the list of records for Djokovic to break is shrinking, he still appears as motivated as ever.
World No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas said last month that he doesn’t see any signs of Djokovic slowing down.
“He is no doubt the best, going by numbers. He breaks record after record,” he told Kathimerini.
“He also has the thirst, even though he has nothing to prove anymore. That’s how he’s wired.
“He’s never happy; it’s like he’s always trying to prove something to someone. I don’t know what or to whom. It’s like he always wants a rematch. He has that glint in his eye.”
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