Rafael Nadal has yet to publicly congratulate Novak Djokovic for breaking the record for full weeks spent as the world number one.
The 35-year-old surpassed Stevie Graf’s tally of 377 weeks on Monday. The Serb already held the record for the most weeks as No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings when he surpassed Roger Federer’s mark of 310 weeks in March 2021.
So far neither the Swiss maestro nor Nadal, who has spent 209 weeks at the top, has taken to social media to acknowledge his rival’s achievement. Djokovic, who currently has 6980 points in the ranking, returned to first place last month for the first time since last June after winning the Australian Open title for the tenth time in January.
To mark the occasion, Djokovic recorded a video of his loyal fans that was uploaded to Instagram. “Of course, thanks to your love and the great strength that you have given me over the years, I have been able to achieve many great things throughout my career,” said the 22-time Grand Slam winner.
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“the most recent [is] Record breaking [with] 378 weeks at No. 1 [in the] rating, surpassing one of the greatest legendary tennis players – both men and women – who have ever played, Stevie Graf. So I’m grateful, obviously very, very proud and happy about this achievement.”
Last week, a former tennis star gave his take on Nadal and Djokovic’s friendship. The two sports legends battled on the court 49 times throughout their illustrious career and pushed each other to their limits – raising the bar for the sport in the process.
Along with Federer, the pair were at the forefront of what is arguably the greatest era in tennis history throughout the late 2000s and into the 2010s, and both the Spaniards and Serbs had 22 Grand Slam tournaments to show for their efforts. However, former world number two Alex Corretja claimed that despite their success on the Tour and the number of special moments they shared together, it is difficult for them to be friends given their rivalry.
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“We are talking about one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport,” the Spaniard told Spanish radio station Cadena SER. “I don’t know if it is very easy to be the best friend of someone with whom you risk many things.” “I think Nadal and Djokovic have a respectful relationship but I don’t see them going out to dinner together to discuss situations.
“In tennis, everyone is very closed off to their team. The same thing happened to us, they are different habits, you have different schedules, another way of being. Just as Federer and Nadal had a rivalry but turned it into something closer, Djokovic and Nadal were on opposite paths in terms of ideals and sharing. things with the masses.”
Djokovic will return to action at the Dubai Open this afternoon, while Nadal was again pictured on the practice court while recovering from a thigh injury sustained at the Australian Open last month.
