Djokovic lost the top spot in the rankings after losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open, thus failing to defend his title. He also lost 2000 points at the Australian Open by not being able to defend his 2021 title, after being barred from this year’s event due to his unvaccinated status.

On Monday, as Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev officially surpassed Djokovic in the rankings, fans flocked to social media to react to the development.

The silver lining for Djokovic is the fact that he has occupied the World No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for more weeks than any other male player in history. Senior tennis journalist Christopher Clarey applauded that as one of the greatest achievements in the sport, drawing further reactions from fans.

The ‘Big 3 era’ of tennis has seen Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer challenge each other for big titles and the No. 1 spot for many years. The three greats have shared some of the biggest and most impressive records in the game.

In light of that, some fans praised the Serb even more for the rankings feat.

Novak Djokovic is set to drop outside the top 5 after Wimbledon

There seems to be no respite for Novak Djokovic in the rankings scenario. After the ATP decided to strip ranking points from the upcoming Wimbledon Championships, the Serb will lose a further 2000 points even if he defends his title. He will consequnetly drop to No. 7 in the rankings, his lowest position since late August 2018.

The ATP’s decision regarding Wimbledon came after the All England Club placed a ban on Russian and Belarusian players in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The fall in the rankings puts the Belgrade native’s bid for an eighth year-end No.1 title in jeopardy. Last season, Djokovic finished the year as the No. 1 for the seventh time in his career, surpassing Pete Sampras’ previously held all-time record of six.

While Djokovic does not have any ranking points to play for at Wimbledon, he will aim to win his 21st Major title and close the gap on Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam race.

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