Paris (AFP)
Novak Djokovic ends the season in world number one for the 6th time, tying Pete Sampras' record, ATP announced on Friday.
The case was almost heard since the tournament in Vienna where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals on October 30, but arithmetically Rafael Nadal could still prevent him.
If the Spaniard qualifies for the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris, he would still have had to score points in the final tournament of the season, next week in Sofia, but he will not participate.
At 33, the Serbian is also the oldest player to finish a season at the top of the world hierarchy.
Djokovic finished the N.1 season for the 6th time in the last ten years, after 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018.
He thus equals his childhood hero Pete Sampras: the American had finished world No. 1 from the 1993 season to the 1998 season.
"Matching Pete is a dream come true," Djokovic commented as quoted by ATP.
"I will continue to do everything to become even better, hoping to win again and set new records," adds Djoko, who is aiming in particular for the record of 20 Grand Slam titles held by his two great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
He is at 17.
The other record that he openly says he has in his sights is the number of weeks spent at the top of the world pyramid.
He is at 293 on November 8 and only has Federer and his 310 weeks ahead of him.
Djokovic started the year N.2 and returned to Rafael Nadal on February 3 the day after his record-breaking 8th Australian Open title.
During this year 2020 truncated by the coronavirus pandemic, he won three other titles: the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and Rome as well as the ATP 500 in Dubai.
He played five more finals and won the first ATP Cup with Serbia earlier this year.
© 2020 AFP