Novak Djokovic equals Roger Federer’s Open Era record against top-10 players

Novak Djokovic concluded his 2022 season with a victory against Casper Ruud in the summit clash of the ATP Finals. With the victory, he equaled Roger Federer’s record against top-10 players.

The Serbian, who was ranked World No. 8 at the time of the clash in the 2022 ATP Finals, faced then World No. 4 Ruud, thus completing as many career meetings (347) with players ranked inside the top 10 as Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro’s final top-10 encounter came at the 2019 ATP Finals against the 21-time Grand Slam champion.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the total number of wins against top-10 players, Djokovic tops the leaderboard, having registered 240 wins against 107 losses, with a win rate of 69.2%. Federer is placed second, having claimed 224 wins and faced 123 losses, with a win rate of 64.6%.

It is worth noting that the 35-year-old added many more records to his name at the 2022 ATP Finals. He won a record sixth title in the season-ending tournament, equaling Federer’s record, which he set in 2011. The World No. 5 also set a new record by becoming the oldest player to triumph at the coveted event, surpassing Federer, who was aged 30 when he won his final trophy in 2011.

The 2022 champion also collected the record biggest pay cheque in tennis history by staying undefeated at the tournament – with victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Ruud. The Serb was awarded $4.74 million for not dropping a single match.

He additionally equaled World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz’s record of five titles in 2022.

---

Novak Djokovic finishes inside top-5 despite turbulent 2022 season

Novak Djokovic finished 2022 season as World No. 5.

Novak Djokovic experienced an unideal season which was considerably affected by his decision to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. The nine-time Australian Open champion faced deportation Down Under and was unable to defend his title. He was further banned from tournaments held in North America, including the Masters tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Montreal and Cincinnati, as well as the US Open, where he was the 2021 finalist.

During the clay season, the former World No. 1 managed to earn the title at the Rome Masters. He was allowed to contest Wimbledon, where his win streak, which has been held since 2018, was kept alive as he successfully defended the title with his 28th consecutive SW19 win. The Serb was, however, not awarded any ranking points as the tournament was stripped of its rankings points following the organizers' decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Despite facing trying times, Novak Djokovic bounced back to clinch titles in Tel Aviv and Astana before climbing to World No. 5 in the rankings with his ATP Finals victory.