Always loved her having that record, but credits to Djokovic – Alexander Zverev on Serbian set to break Steffi Graf’s rankings record

Novak Djokovic is regarded as one of the best players to have graced the sport. Djokovic has won 22 Grand Slam titles in his glorious career, which is the joint-most in Men’s tennis along with Rafael Nadal.

After winning the Australian Open by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in Melbourne, Djokovic clinched his 10th Happy Slam title and also reclaimed his numero uno position in the ATP Rankings.

This week Djokovic equaled Steffi Graf’s record of most weeks (377) at the number one ranking and he is all set to leapfrog the legendary German’s feat next week on Monday.

Alexander Zverev gave credit to Novak Djokovic for his consistent performances at the top level.

Zverev said in the pre-match press conference at the Qatar Open, “He’s surpassing Steffi, so as a German, obviously I always loved her having that record, but credits to Novak. I think that shows how great he is,” Alexander Zverev said. “I’m sure that he’s going to break a few more records, to be honest. I’m not sure there are many left, but the ones that are left, maybe he will.”

The German showered praise on Djokovic for dominating the game in the last decade.

“I think over the last 10, 12 years he has absolutely dominated tennis. There is a reason why he’s been consistently at the top of the game,” Zverev said. “That shows us with this record, from male or female tennis players, he’s going to be the most weeks at No. 1.”

Meanwhile, Zverev recently made a return to the Australian Open after recovering from an ankle injury, which he had suffered in the semifinal of Roland Garros 2022 while playing against Rafael Nadal. However, he faced early exits from the Happy Slam and also ABN AMRO Open but the German is feeling confident regarding his form.

“When I’m pain-free I enjoy tennis a lot. Yeah, the last year or so, not year yet, but since June there were a lot of times where that wasn’t the case. It took me a very long time to come back,” Alexander Zverev said. “So even tournaments like Australia, stuff like that, I was still very limited to what I was able to do. I was still not completely pain-free, not being able to move the way I want to move.”

“When I’m pain-free I enjoy tennis a lot. Yeah, the last year or so, not year yet, but since June there were a lot of times where that wasn’t the case. It took me a very long time to come back,” Alexander Zverev said. “So even tournaments like Australia, stuff like that, I was still very limited to what I was able to do. I was still not completely pain-free, not being able to move the way I want to move.”

Zverev will face Andy Murray in the opening round of the Qatar Open.