Novak Djokovic has equaled Roger Federer’s record of 310 weeks at number one in the world.
The 33-year-old had chased after the mark, which he is sure to break next week, one of his main career goals.
It is aided by temporary changes to the ranking system due to infectious coronavirus infection which means players can count contests from two years instead of one.
But there is no doubt that Djokovic is the best player in the world, as can be seen from his ninth win at the Australian Open last month.
He has started 2021 by winning nine games in a row and last year did not lose a finished game to the French Open final in October.
Djokovic’s fifth spell at the top of the rankings began on February 3 last year while he has been ranked number one for all but 32 weeks since Federer hit 310 weeks in June 2018.
His longest period as a number one was 122 weeks between July 2014 and November 2016.
Djokovic sits on 12,030 points, more than 2,000 clear from Rafael Nadal, with Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem the only other players with more than 7,000 points.
Breaking the record is expected to mean Djokovic will play only abruptly while restrictions prevent his young family from traveling with him, with Serbia prioritizing the big slams as he runs down his other big goal.
Djokovic’s trophy in Melbourne took him to 18 slam titles, two behind men’s record co-owners Federer and Nadal.
“Having achieved the historical number one for the longest weeks at number one, it will be a relief as I am going to focus all my attention on slams in general,” said Djokovic.