Can Novak Djokovic Win His First Tournament as ATP No.1? Not Many Did

Novak Djokovic has been ATP No. 1 since July 4th, but he is still a few hours from actually playing a game as the official tennis top player.

The Serbian star will debut today in the Montreal Masters 1000 against Nikolay Davydenko, the start of his attempt to win his first title as No. 1.

Novak is the No. 1 seed, of course, but after five weeks with no activity, it seems really hard for him to keep his impressive form of the year and win his first tournament after reaching the top of the rankings.

And guess what? Stats say he won’t.

Djokovic is the 25th player that reaches the No. 1 spot in the ATP list. Only four of the previous 24 won their first tournament as tennis top ranked. 

#	Player	First week as ATP No.1	First tournament as ATP No.1	Result
1	Ilie Nastase	August 23rd, 1973	US Open	1st round
2	John Newcombe	June 3rd, 1974	Nottingham	3rd round
3	Jimmy Connors	July 29th, 1974	Indianapolis	Champion
4	Björn Borg	August 23rd, 1977	*	*
5	John McEnroe	March 3rd, 1980	Frankfurt	1st round
6	Ivan Lendl	February 28th, 1983	Brussels	Runner-up
7	Mats Wilander	September 12th, 1988	Palermo	Champion
8	Stefan Edberg	August 13th, 1990	Long Island	Champion
9	Boris Becker	January 28th, 1991	Brussels	Semifinals
10	Jim Courier	February 10th, 1992	Brussels	Runner-up
11	Pete Sampras	April 12th, 1993	Hong Kong	Champion
12	Andre Agassi	April 10th, 1995	Tokyo	Runner-up
13	Thomas Muster	February 12th, 1996	Dubai	1st round
14	Marcelo Ríos	March 30th, 1998	*	*
15	Carlos Moyá	March 15th, 1999	Masters Miami	4th round
16	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	May 3rd, 1999	Masters Rome	3rd round
17	Patrick Rafter	July 26th, 1999	*	*
18	Marat Safin	November 20th, 2000	Masters Cup	Semifinals
19	Gustavo Kuerten	December 4th, 2000	Australian Open	2nd round
20	Lleyton Hewitt	November 19th, 2001	Australian Open	1st round
21	Juan Carlos Ferrero	September 8th, 2003	Bangkok	Runner-up
22	Andy Roddick	November 3rd, 2003	Masters Cup	Semifinals
23	Roger Federer	February 2nd, 2004	Rotterdam	Quarterfinals
24	Rafael Nadal	August 18th, 2008	US Open	Semifinals
Note: the table only considers the first time a player become No. 1 in the ATP Rankings * The players didn't compete before losing the top spot in the ranking.

Will Djokovic join the select group of Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras?

There is one important aspect to consider. Those four times a new No. 1 won his first tournament, it happened in minor events, never in a Grand Slam or the equivalent of the current Masters 1000 Series.

Novak not only will compete in a Masters 1000, he has a really tough draw.

After Davydenko, Djokovic would face Juan Martín del Potro or Marin Cilic. Next on the path would be Gael Monfils, followed by Roger Federer before a final against Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray.

If he actually wins in Montreal, that will be an historic achievement to his resume.

Follow me on Twitter: @luisrha