Novak Djokovic becomes the player with most losses as World No. 1 after 2023 Italian Open defeat

With his 2023 Italian Open exit, Novak Djokovic is now the player with the greatest number of losses registered as the World No. 1.

On Wednesday, May 17, Djokovic’s title defense in Rome came to a close as he faced a second consecutive loss to next-gen player Holger Rune. Rune defeated the Serb 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event.

This was Djokovic’s 70th defeat as the World No. 1, making him the men’s player to have incurred the most losses while being on top of the rankings chart. His previous such loss came in the quarterfinals of the Srpska Open last month.

After the defeat at the Srpska Open, Djokovic was tied with 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras at 69 losses as the World No. 1.

It is worth noting that Novak Djokovic, who holds the record for most weeks spent at the top spot of the rankings, has incurred his 70 defeats over a span of 387 weeks. Pete Sampras, meanwhile, collected his 69 losses over 286 weeks.

Roger Federer, with 56 defeats during his 310-week long reign at the top, is third on the list. Ivan Lendl (270 weeks at No. 1) and Rafael Nadal (209 weeks at No.1), occupy the fourth and fifth spots with 44 losses apiece.

Among men who have assumed the top position for at least 100 weeks, 11-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg is the player with the fewest losses. Borg suffered just 12 defeats during his reign at the summit, which lasted 109 weeks.

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Novak Djokovic loses World No. 1 ranking ahead of 2023 French Open

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Italian Open

Novak Djokovic will no longer be the World No. 1 come Monday (May 22).

The Serb commenced his Italian Open title defense aware of the fact that he would be dethroned by Carlos Alcaraz regardless of the duo’s results. The two players had a difference of just five points in the rankings.

Djokovic's early exit has now increased the gap in ranking points between the two. Alcaraz, defending a quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 French Open, will enter the tournament as the top seed with 6815 ranking points to his name. Djokovic, also defending a last-eight appearance, would be 860 points behind Alcaraz.

The Serb, however, hasn’t been guaranteed a top-two berth at the claycourt Major. World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, who is still in contention for the Italian Open title, trails him by 445 points. That gap can be made up if Medvedev wins the Masters 1000 title in Rome.