Men's tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia) has surpassed Roger Federer (Switzerland-retired) as the oldest player ever to hold the No. 1 singles ranking.
Djokovic retained the top spot in the men's singles world rankings released by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on Monday.
Born on May 22, 1987, Djokovic has now held the No. 1 ranking for 36 years and 11 months, surpassing the previous record of 36 years and 10 months held by Federer, who was born on August 8, 1981.
He also extended his cumulative time at No. 1 to 420 weeks, breaking his own record for the longest No. 1 ranking in history for both men and women. Steffi Graf (55-377 weeks) is the women's leader in this category, while Federer (310 weeks) is the men's leader. It's a record that will be hard to break in the future.
Djokovic's spoils are plentiful, as he holds the record for most singles titles at the four majors (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) (24) and is the all-time leader in prize money earnings.
This year, Djokovic plans to go after what is practically the last thing on his list: Olympic gold. His best result was a bronze singles medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He is highly motivated to compete in the Paris Olympics in July in order to achieve the so-called "career golden slam" (four major titles plus Olympic singles gold).
Djokovic has had a bit of a slow start to the year, losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Jannique Cigner (23-Italy, No. 2) and then falling in the round of 32 at Indian Wells, but barring any major injuries, he should be healthy for another year or two.
Djokovic returns to action on Sept. 9 in the round of 32 at the ATP Tour's Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.