Novak Djokovic officially became the oldest world no. 1 ever recently, and he reacted to the achievement after his first win at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.
There have been many records that Roger Federer once held that are being held by the Serbian player right now. One of those is the record for the oldest number one in the ATP Rankings, which Djokovic officially became on Sunday, and extended the record on Monday.
No player was ever ranked number one at an older age than Djokovic, which is truly a testament to his longevity. He spoke a bit about that after his win at the Monte-Carlo Masters, admitting that it’s a great feeling as he never dreamed about it.
“It’s nice, it’s great. I met Bopanna yesterday, who is the oldest doubles number one in history, and he said that we have a combined age of 80. He does contribute to the 80 more than I do but it’s fun.”
“Obviously, to still be able to compete at the highest level and to be number one in the world at the age of almost 37 is not something that I was honestly dreaming of, planning on, or thinking was going to become a reality.”
Getting to this was certainly a ride for Djokovic, but it came after hours upon hours of hard work and sacrifice. Only he knows what it took to get here, and he mentioned it briefly when commenting on it.
It truly is a testament to the work he put into his tennis and into his body to keep himself healthy because, ultimately, that’s what got him here, being healthy and tremendous athlete.
“All the work and the dedication to the sport and to my body is paying off, and I’m able to maintain the longevity and extend my career for years and years.”