Novak Djokovic clinches historic seventh year-end No. 1 finish

With his 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5) semifinal victory over Hubert Hurkacz at the Rolex Paris Masters on Saturday, Novak Djokovic added another historic feat to his already-historic career, clinching year-end No. 1 for the seventh time, surpassing Pete Sampras’ record for most year-end No. 1 finishes in ATP rankings history.

MOST YEAR-END NO. 1 FINISHES IN ATP RANKINGS HISTORY (since 1973)
7: Novak Djokovic (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021)
6: Pete Sampras (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
5: Rafael Nadal (2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
5: Roger Federer (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
5: Jimmy Connors (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)

Djokovic came into this year with the goal of peaking at the Grand Slams, and peak at the Grand Slams he did—he won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, which not only tied him with Federer and Nadal for the all-time men’s record for most career Grand Slam titles with 20, but also made him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the first three majors of the year.

He even came within one win of completing a Calendar-Year Grand Slam, battling his way into the US Open final before finishing runner-up to Daniil Medvedev.

And by winning Roland Garros for a second time, he became the first man in the Open Era to win every major at least twice each.

“It was a very successful season—Grand Slam season in particular,” Djokovic said coming into Paris, his first tournament since the US Open. “Those were the big tournaments I kind of focused on this year, and they took a lot out of me, so I had to take a bit of a break to refresh myself and come back on the tour strong, and hopefully have a strong finish of the season.”

This will also be the first time any man has been year-end No. 1 in back-to-back years since Djokovic achieved the feat himself in 2014 and 2015.

FLASHBACK: Highlights from Djokovic's win over Nadal at Roland Garros

Seven year-end No. 1 finishes isn’t the only historic ranking record Djokovic has achieved this year, either—in March he passed Federer for most career weeks at No. 1 in ATP rankings history.

The Serb is spending his 345th week at the top spot this week.

MOST CAREER WEEKS AT NO. 1 IN ATP RANKINGS HISTORY (since 1973)
345: Novak Djokovic
310: Roger Federer
286: Pete Sampras
270: Ivan Lendl
268: Jimmy Connors
209: Rafael Nadal