Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic further cemented his status as one of the greatest players in tennis history with his 411th ATP Masters 1000 match win on Sunday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion cruised to a dominant 6-1, 7-6(1) victory over Argentine lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the third round of the Miami Open, edging closer to the milestone of 100 career singles titles.
Currently ranked fifth in the ATP rankings, Djokovic’s focus is no longer on reclaiming the No. 1 spot, a position he has held for a record 400+ weeks. At 37, Djokovic acknowledged that while regaining the top ranking would be a fantastic achievement, his primary goal is winning Grand Slam titles and major tournaments, not ranking points.
“I’m happy to win a Grand Slam and a big tournament rather than getting to number one. Right now, that’s more important for me,” Djokovic explained after his victory.
With 99 career singles titles to his name, Djokovic is poised to join an elite group of players who have won 100 or more titles. Only Jimmy Connors (109 titles) and Roger Federer (103 titles) have reached this milestone. While Djokovic has set his sights on this achievement, he is aware of the challenge ahead.
“Connors is someone that I truly admire and respect,” he said, acknowledging that surpassing Connors’ record would be difficult given the current state of his career. “It would be amazing, but again, it’s probably more difficult to achieve that nowadays for me than maybe it was some years ago.”
As Djokovic continues his pursuit of his 100th career title at the Miami Open, fans are eagerly anticipating whether he will take another step toward solidifying his legacy as one of the sport’s all-time greats.
