Novak Djokovic made history after breaking Roger Federer's record for most weeks as world number one on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic surpassed Federer after beginning his 311th week as the number one player in the men's rankings on Monday.
Serbian star Djokovic reclaimed the top ranking from fellow superstar Rafael Nadal in February 2020 and finished as year-ending number one for the sixth time – tying the mark set by Pete Sampras.
Djokovic, who first topped the men's rankings in July 2011, went on to celebrate a record-extending ninth Australian Open title at Melbourne Park in February.
With Federer turning 40 in August and Nadal a year older, the 33-year-old Djokovic has time on his side in pursuit of more history.
Djokovic has won 18 grand slams, two adrift of Federer – who is set to make his long-awaited ATP comeback in Qatar this week – and Nadal.
"I think it's an ultimate challenge to be honest, of course, winning a slam and being in history, the longest-ever number one," Djokovic said in Melbourne last month.
"You can have a great grand slam, a great tournament, a great couple of months, or even a great season but to do it over and over again, to be actually contender for historic number one, you need to play well and have a consistency from January to November, ever single year.
"I've been fortunate to do that and put myself in a position to make history in that regard. I'm very, very proud of that and privileged to be in that position.
"It's also a relief because it has been definitely my main goal, other than winning slams and now that I'll be managing to achieve it, I'll focus myself more on slams and adapt my calendar and schedule because when you're going for number one, you have to play all year and you have to play all the biggest tournaments.
"You can't allow someone else to earn more points than you. It's like a constant pressure, I think, and expectations that you have to deal with. It's definitely fulfilling to achieve that."
Federer now sits sixth in the rankings, having not played competitively since the 2020 Australian Open.
Nadal remains second, though he is set to be leapfrogged by Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the next rankings release on March 15.
Russian Medvedev will be the first player, other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Andy Murray, ranked in the top two since July 2005.
Pegula, Gauff and Rybakina highlight second-round winners at the Miami Open
Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff headlined a great day for the Americans at the Miami Open as they both advanced into the third round on Thursday.
Pegula, who is the second-highest seed remaining in the field after Iga Swiatek's withdrawal, had no issue dispatching Canada's Katherine Sebov 6-3 6-1 in just 66 minutes.
Gauff, the six seed, followed suit as she raced to a 6-4 6-3 win over Canadian Rebecca Marino in just 73 minutes.
Florida's own Danielle Collins thrilled her hometown crowd with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 triumph against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova, and rising 22-year-old talent Clare Liu made it a perfect 4-0 sweep for the USA representatives by defeating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-3.
Last week's Indian Wells Open champion Elena Rybakina was made to work in her 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Anna Kalinskaya, while an even more gruelling effort was required in Paula Badosa's two-hour-and-52-minute 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-2 result against Laura Siegemund.
The top seed to fall on Thursday was eighth seed Daria Kasatkina, as she won the first set before going down 4-6 6-2 6-2 against Elise Mertens.
Liudmila Samsonova, the 12th seed, made light work of Viktorija Golubic in a 6-1 6-1 drubbing, and 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko prevailed 6-3 6-4 against Mirjam Bjorklund.
Ostapenko will next play 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after she won a strange back-and-forth contest 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 6-0 over Tereza Martincova.
Gasquet prevails in Miami Open first round to book clash with Tsitsipas
Richard Gasquet will get a showcase match against second-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the Miami Open after prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Christopher O'Connell on Thursday.
The biggest names in the field learned their opponents after the 32 seeded entrant received byes into the second round of the Masters 1000 event, and Tsitsipas will be desperate to avoid a third consecutive loss after quick exits at the Rotterdam Open and Indian Wells Open in recent weeks.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is waiting for Roberto Carbellas Baena after he blew away Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0 3-0 (retired) in an all-Spanish showdown, while fifth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet Brazil's Thiago Monteiro in the second round after his 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over Australia's Jason Kubler.
After O'Connell and Kubler both fell, Thanasi Kokkinakis flew the flag for Australia with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) comeback against Belgian wildcard Zizou Bergs, and his reward will be a battle against Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
France's Gregoire Barrere earned a big matchup against 11th seed Cameron Norrie after eliminating Roman Safiullin 6-4 3-6 6-3, and Safiullin's Russian compatriot Pavel Kotov will join him on an early flight home after going down 6-2 6-2 against recent Chile Open finalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Alcaraz tipped for dominant career but Murray 'wouldn't predict 20-plus slams for anyone'
Andy Murray believes Carlos Alcaraz can be a dominant figure in tennis "for as long as he wants" but cautioned against expecting him to challenge the grand slam records of the Big Three.
Roger Federer's haul of 20 slam titles has been overtaken by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both have 22 majors, but those three are streets ahead of every other men's singles player in history.
Next on the list is Pete Sampras with 14 slams, which was itself a total that many once fancied would not be beaten for decades.
Murray was for a time part of a Big Four, until he got left behind by the relentless winning of his three great rivals. Federer has retired, but Djokovic and Nadal may yet have more slam titles in them.
At the age of 19, Alcaraz is already off the mark, winning the US Open last year, and he has jumped back to world number one after winning the Indian Wells Open on Sunday.
Djokovic and Nadal will be big threats to Alcaraz's hopes of triumphing at the French Open, but the young Spaniard is no longer simply the coming player on the ATP. He has arrived, and Murray is convinced Alcaraz is the real deal and poised to stay at the top of the sport for years to come.
"He has an excellent game, an all-around game that I think will translate well onto all surfaces," Murray said.
"He's not the biggest guy, but he can serve big. He's an unbelievable mover, great athlete. Has a lot of variety in his game. Takes the ball on a lot. That's something that you hope that he keeps.
"I know from experience that it's a bit easier playing that way when you're sort of 18, 19, and there's not any scar tissue there. I hope that he maintains that style of play because it's exciting to watch."
The prediction that Alcaraz can be an all-court player, and therefore succeed on grass as well as the hard and clay courts where he has already found success, bodes well for his prospects of stacking up slams.
Murray might have faced Alcaraz in round three at the Miami Open this fortnight, but the veteran Briton, a three-time slam winner and former number one, lost his opener on Wednesday to Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
There have only been two matches on tour between Alcaraz and Murray to date, both coming in the 2021 season when they won one each.
Alcaraz is the defending champion in Miami, and a clear favourite after crushing Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells title match. He brings a 14-1 record for the year into the tournament.
"He's obviously so far in his young career doing better than most of the guys that have come in the last eight to 10 years," Murray said.
"I know a lot of people are expecting everyone to win 20-plus grand slams now, like that's sort of normal. I wouldn't predict that for anyone.
"I would imagine he would be right at the top of the game for, well, as long as he wants to play."
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