Novak Djokovic sets sights on Jimmy Connors' ATP titles record as next mountain to conquer

Novak Djokovic recently declared that his next big target is to overtake American tennis legend Jimmy Connors in the all-time singles titles tally.

Connors took up tennis professionally in the year 1972 and straightaway added six trophies to his kitty before the turn of the year. He bettered his last year's performance and collected 11 more titles in 1973.

The start of 1974 brought Connors his biggest glory as he triumphed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. He won the Australian Open by defeating Phil Dent in the final. That year, he won silverware on 14 more occasions, including one each at Wimbledon and the US Open.

The American lifted one trophy after another on the men's singles circuit as the year went by. He won nine titles in 1975, 12 in 1976, eight in 1977, ten in 1978, eight in 1979, six in 1980, four in 1981, seven in 1982, four in 1983, five in 1984, and two each in 1988 and 1999.

Connors finished with a total of 109 singles titles, including eight at Majors, to his name, which thus far stands as the record in men's tennis.

Djokovic, on the other hand, has collected 98 titles, including 24 at Grand Slams and 40 at ATP Masters 1000 events, on the singles circuit to date. He sits in the third spot behind Roger Federer, who retired in September 2022 with 103 trophies.

The Serb sat down for an interaction with Marca recently where he was asked about what record he would like to break. He answered:

"That's a good question. Probably the record for most titles. I want to win as many tournaments as possible and pass Connors. There are always records on the horizon that can be broken."

The World No. 1 vowed to stay motivated, saying:

"Likewise, I want to have my own records and my own history, that's the most important thing. To win the big titles, I have to maintain the level of intensity, dedication and motivation."

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Notable records broken by Novak Djokovic in 2023

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic equaled Australia's Margaret Court in the all-time Grand Slam winners' list in 2023. Before the start of the year, he had 21 Major titles in his trophy cabinet.

The Serb won the Australian Open in January, the French Open in June, and the US Open in September to draw level with Court's record of 24 Majors overall.

Earlier in February, Djokovic surpassed Steffi Graf in terms of most weeks spent as the top-ranked player overall. Graf held the record with a total of 377 weeks on top of the WTA rankings. The Serb is currently in his 400th week atop the ATP rankings.

Djokovic also bettered Roger Federer in terms of most ATP Finals titles. The duo were tied at six each until this year's year-end championship in Turin, Italy. He defeated Jannik Sinner in the final on November 19 to win the coveted title for a record seventh time.