At the 2023 French Open, Novak Djokovic surpassed Rafael Nadal for most major titles (and has since added to his record tally with 24 slams).
On Tuesday, Djokovic eclipsed another longstanding Nadal record with a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 win over Flavio Cobolli in the third round of the Shanghai Masters.
With his 406th win, the Serb officially topped Nadal for the greatest win/loss percentage at ATP 1000 events. Djokovic — who already holds the record for most ATP 1000 titles with 40 — now boasts a record of 406-89 at ATP 1000 events, just four wins shy of Nadal’s record of 410-90.
With an overall record of 1121-221, Djokovic (.835) also owns the best winning percentage among all events, sitting atop the leaderboard over Nadal (.826), Bjorn Borg (.824), Roger Federer (.820) and Jimmy Connors (.818).
The chase for 100
That said, Djokovic (99) still trails Connors (109) and Federer (103) for most overall ATP titles. If he can win the ongoing Shanghai Masters, he’d officially become the third player in history to hit the century mark. Ivan Lendl (94) and Rafael Nadal (92) were the next closest to secure 100 ATP titles.
Djokovic is well aware that the 100th title is within grasp. The Serb has played only 42 matches in 2024, his fewest in a season since his injury-riddled 2017 that saw him play just 40. It’s why he admittedly had “extra motivation” to play the Shanghai Masters, just to chase the century feat.
In his quest for ATP title No. 100, the 37-year-old will next face Russia’s Roman Safiullin in the fourth round in Shanghai. Safiullin is fresh off an upset win over 13th seed Frances Tiafoe in an exhilarating third-round clash that saw him prevail 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5) in three hours and four minutes.