'Historic' number of weeks for tennis legend Djokovic at the top of world rankings
Serbian star Novak Djokovic topped the ranking of professional tennis players for the 379th week, while he may be removed from his throne by Spaniard Carlos Alcaras if crowned the title of the American Indian Wells tournament.
Last week, Djoko broke the absolute record held by German Steffi Graf (377 weeks), after regaining first place in January after being crowned the Australian Championship title in Melbourne, the twenty-second major in his career, equal with Spanish legend Rafael Nadal.
But Djokovic, 35, who lost for the first time this season in the Dubai tournament on Friday, will miss the Indian Wells Thousand Championship, which starts on Wednesday, after not receiving the coronavirus vaccine.
If the 19-year-old Alcaras, who is 380 points clear of him, is crowned at the tournament in California, he will regain the first place he secured after being crowned at the US Open and last September became the youngest player to achieve this feat.
Djokovic topped the classification for the first time in 2011, after being crowned Wimbledon title at the expense of Nadal.
The top five in Monday's ranking were unchanged, with Djokovic and Alcaras ahead of Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, Norway's Kasper Ruud and American Taylor Fritz.
Russian Daniil Medvedev won three consecutive titles, the last of which was Sunday in Dubai, by climbing one place to sixth place, at the expense of his compatriot Andrey Rublev.
After reaching the semi-finals of the Acapulco tournament, young Danish Holger Rønne climbed two places to eighth.
The 36-year-old Nadal, who is undergoing treatment after injuring his left leg, fell one place and became ninth, knowing that he will miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments.
On the women's side, Poland's Iga Świřtek still dominates the lead with 10585,6100 points, far ahead of her nearest pursuer Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (5495,4921). American Jessica Pegula retained third place (<>,<>), ahead of Tunisia's Anas Jabeur (<>,<>).
Top Ten Players Rating
1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 7160 points
2. Carlos Alcaras (Spain) 6780
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 5805
4. Casper Ruhde (Norway) 5560
5. Taylor Fritz (United States) 3795
6. Daniil Medvedev (Russia) 3775 (+1)
7. Andrey Rublev (Russia) 3660 (-1)
8. Holger Rohn (Denmark) 3321 (+2)
9. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 3315 (-1)
10. Félix Auger-Aliassime (Canada) 3245 (-1)
Ranking Top Ten Players
1. Iga Świłętek (Poland) 10585 points
2. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) 6100
3. Jessica Pegula (United States) 5495
4. Anas Jaber (Tunisia) 4921
5. Caroline Garcia (France) 4905
6. Coco Gough (USA) 4251
7. Maria Sakkari (Greece) 3451
8. Daria Kasatkina (Russia) 3375
9. Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 3360
10. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 2935