Novak Djokovic’s dad hits out after focus shifted from burying Federer record
Novak Djokovic’s dad has claimed that the tennis world moved the goalposts for his son after he surpassed one of Roger Federer’s records. The Serb is currently in his 400th week as the world No 1, a feat never seen in the sport. But Srdjan Djokovic believes that new standings have been invented to try and discredit his son ever since he first surpassed Federer’s old record of 310 weeks at the top.
Djokovic secured his place as the year-end No 1 when he defeated Holger Rune in his opening match at last week’s ATP Finals. It marked the eighth time in the 36-year-old’s career that he ended the season atop the rankings but also ensured that he would start this week as the world No 1, marking his 400th total week on top.
It’s a milestone achievement for the Serb but he has already long left his rivals in the dust, surpassing Federer’s former ATP record of 310 weeks at No 1 back in March 2021. And in February of this year, he became the player with the most all-time weeks on top, outdoing Steffi Graf’s tally of 377 weeks.
But his father Srdjan believes that the focus shifted after his son outdid Federer and hit out at the constantly moving goalposts for his son’s achievements. “Federer was the first in the world with 310 weeks, so when Novak reached him, then they said that Steffi Graf had 370 and something weeks, so he reached her too,” Djokovic’s dad told Sportal.
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“Then they invented someone there from the pre-open era to have 500 weeks at the top. Do you want it to be in those 500 or so weeks now? Well, it will be.” Srdjan has played a key role in his son’s development as a tennis player, as he believed Djokovic would reach the top of tennis when he was just 12 years old.
Djokovic’s father added: “For a long time neither my wife nor he believed what I believed. Because I never let him say that it would be the 10th, 20th, second, fifth, 17th. Not. Just number one. And that was somehow engraved in his being, the core and existence as a tennis player. And he did that seven or eight years ago, and everything he does after that, I never even dreamed of.”
There are barely any records left for Djokovic to break, as he was able to win three more Grand Slam titles this year to take his total tally to 24, allowing him to stand alone in the Open Era. He also reached 40 Masters 1000 titles this month, has the most weeks at No 1, and recently won his seventh ATP Finals title – previously sharing the record of six with Federer.
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With 98 total career titles to his name, his next goal could be to chase down Jimmy Connors’ record of 109. And after his triumph in Turin, Djokovic admitted that he was still eager to keep rewriting history. “It’s still huge motivation to keep going and making history of this sport. So I still enjoy it,” he said.
“I love competition. I love winning tournaments obviously and being the best in the world. I know that there is a lot of people around the world, especially from my region, that follow me and they want me to keep going, which is an added strength.”
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