Novak Djokovic Will End 2011 as ATP No. 1

A new era is about to begin in male tennis.

Novak Djokovic is the new No. 2 in the ATP rankings after winning the first Masters 1000 of the year at Indian Wells, which included back-to-back victories over Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The Serbian player, who ended as No. 3 in the rankings from 2007 to 2010, had already been No. 2 three times during 2010 for a total of 24 weeks.

It’s just matter of time before we see him at the top.

With a 18-0 record in 2011 and the titles of the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells, Djokovic already has the best start of a season ever in the ATP Tour.

No player had stayed undefeated up to the final of Indian Wells—not even Pete Sampras or Roger Federer.

The last time Djokovic lost a match was precisely against the Swiss Express in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals at London on Nov. 27.

He then won his two singles matches to lead Serbia to their first Davis Cup victory, which set his undefeated streak at 20 matches. In those 20 matches, the Serbian star has lost only five sets.

Looking at the 2011 ATP “Race” (no longer official, but still useful to have a scene of how the year-end rankings could be), Djokovic has an impressive lead with 3,735 points. Federer is second with 1,640, followed by David Ferrer with 1,490. Nadal is sixth with 1,100. You can see the full table here.

Novak’s start of 2011 is looking a lot like Federer’s 2004 (yes, the year Roger started his domination in the ATP). That year, at 22 (Djokovic is 23), Federer also won Australia, Dubai and Indian Wells, plus two singles matches in the Davis Cup, but lost in the quarterfinals at Rotterdam (before Dubai).

After beating Roger three times in 2011, Novak now has set his sights on Nadal, who still has a 3,920-point lead in the World Rankings.

It seems like a lot, but Djokovic actually has a very good chance to reduce it to a minimum before Roland Garros.

In the next two months, both Novak and Rafa will compete in four Masters 1000s: Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome. Djokovic will also play in his home ATP 250 in Belgrade, while Nadal will compete in the ATP 500 in Barcelona.

Djokovic will only defend 595 points in those tournaments. Last year, he lost in the second round at Miami, reached the semifinals at Monte Carlo and got to the quarterfinals at Rome and Belgrade, while missing Madrid.

Nadal, in turn, will defend 3,360 points, given his 2010 victories at Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid, plus reaching the semifinals at Miami.

Considering the Spaniard’s dominance in clay, it’s unlikely to see the Serbian at the top of the rankings before the French Open, but the gap will definitely get much smaller.

Once the clay season is over, Djokovic will be only weeks away from becoming the new No. 1 in the ATP.

And he will be at the top for a long time.

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