THE reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic equaled Roger Federer’s all-time record for the most weeks as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world number one Monday, while the Swiss great opted out of this month’s Miami Open to continue working his way back from knee surgeries.

As of Monday, Djokovic has been No. 1 in the ATP rankings for a total of 310 weeks.

That equals Federer’s career record for most time spent atop the rankings. And no matter what happens over the next week, Djokovic is assured of breaking Federer’s mark March 8. Pete Sampras is third on the list, with 286 weeks.

Djokovic’s Australian Open championship last month gave the 33-year-old Serbian 18 Grand Slam singles trophies. Only Federer and Nadal, each with 20, have more.

Federer sat out most of the 2020 season following his two rounds of knee operations and pulled out of last month’s Australian Open.(SD-Agencies)