Djokovic says ‘surreal’ to break Steffi Graf’s world rankings record

Novak Djokovic said breaking Steffi Graf’s record of 377 weeks at number one in the rankings on Monday was “surreal” and he was proud to surpass one of the best players in the sport.

The Serbian will spend his 378th week at the top of men’s tennis in Dubai, where he will play in his first tournament since claiming his 10th Australian Open crown and record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam title last month.

“I still want more achievements,” Djokovic told reporters in Dubai on Sunday.

“I am driven by goals. I am as dedicated to sport as anyone else.

“Of course, it’s real in the way of being number one in the world for several weeks, to match Steffi Graf, who is one of the best in our sport, male and female. Just being among these legendary names is great. I very proud.”

Unbeaten in all 12 matches he played so far this season, Djokovic said he has been pain-free for the past week, having recovered from a muscle injury to his left hamstring sustained in Australia.

“I’m close to 100 percent. Still not in terms of the game itself, how I feel on the court. But the important thing is that there is no pain. I don’t get in the way of my progress on the court,” said the 35-year-old.

Djokovic will begin his campaign in Dubai against Czech qualifier Tomas Machac on Tuesday, where the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andy Murray are also expected to take the court.

Last year, Dubai hosted Djokovic’s first event of the season after he was deported from Australia due to his vaccination status.

The fifth champion in Dubai, he was defeated in the quarter-finals by Jiri Vesely.

Murray, who is a week older than Djokovic and has been a rival of the Serbian since his early teens, is coming off an impressive week in Doha, where he fought off four three-setters before losing to Medvedev in the final.

It has been a theme for the former British world number one, who also performed heroics at the Australian Open last month.

“What has happened this year with the match points he has saved in every game he has played, the number of hours he has spent on the pitch since the beginning of the year, especially in Australia, you just have to admire him and say ‘chapeau’. because of everything he has done with his hips, ” said Djokovic of Murray.

‘The great man of Mur

ray’

“It should be noted that he has an artificial hip and he moves as he does. He constantly strives to improve and return to the highest level, which he seems to have done. He just goes up in the rankings. The level is better and better.

“I like him very much because he is a good person, he respects the sport, he works very hard. He is very committed, he deserves success.

Djokovic has also taken note of the exploits of the new Chinese player on the ATP tour.

There are two Chinese men in the top 100 – Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen – with teenager Shang Juncheng not far behind.

Djokovic said he knew it was only a matter of time before the Chinese men rose through the ranks as the Chinese women did on the WTA tour.

“I like Chinese tennis. It is important. It is important that a country like China is also good in men’s tennis. I think for us globally, as part of the tennis ecosystem, it is good news,” he said.

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