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Novak Djokovic has the Best ATP Winning Percentage of All-Time



Make no mistake about it: Novak Djokovic is a winning machine; He's a steaming, sweating factory, one that produces nothing but big, fat Ws.

More: Djokovic Hits Milestone in Dubai with Win over Jaziri

Today, Djokovic notched his 700th career victory, becoming just the third active player to reach that mark and the 12th overall. It’s amazing to be sure, but it is also humbling. It demonstrates to us that Nole has a long way to go if he wants to hang with the big boys in the 1,000-win club when his career is over. So, should we stop a while to celebrate Djokovic’s achievement or just start mindlessly pointing him to the roads ahead?

Let’s celebrate.

And while we're at it, let's celebrate this as well: Djokovic now owns the best ATP winning percentage of all-time. How crazy is that?


It’s more proof that Djokovic is chugging along at an unprecedented level of tennis transcendence. Of all the great players in the Open Era, Novak has won more efficiently than every one of them. Not only his two biggest rivals Roger and Rafa, but Connors, McEnroe, Borg, Laver, Lendl—all of them.

In his tribute at ATPWorldTour.com today, James Buddell pointed out that Djokovic has gone 100-6 (.9434 win percentage) since November of 2014 to get to this elevated status. Prior to that hot streak Djokovic clocked in with a career record of 600-140 (.8108). Djokovic has improved his winning percentage to .8274 from .8105 in the last 15 months, moving ahead of all the greats of the game in the process.

Now we wonder… can Djokovic stretch the gap in winning percentage like he’s currently stretching the rankings gap between himself and No. 2? He leads Murray by 7,935 points and it will take a full season of Murray or Federer (8,795 points, trails Djokovic by 8,095) winning multiple titles while Djokovic simultaneously eats Bonbons on the couch with his wife and son to close the gap.

2016 is Djokovic’s time, and he knows it. He’s a supremely focused, supremely confident athlete right now. And it shows in his sublime tennis. This new level of Djokovician domination is even more riveting than the 2011 and 2014 versions. The software keeps getting upgraded, the features streamlined.

It’s a thing of beauty, Djokovic’s eternally evolving blend of gymnastics-like tennis. Yet so many of us are so used to watching the world No. 1 dominate that we’ve been lulled to sleep. We rarely take time to step outside our tennis bubbles and gain perspective. Djokovic is still chasing many accolades—Grand Slam records, the Roland Garros title and various other milestones—but what we must realize, and appreciate, is that he’s never been as good as he is right now.

There are some that roll their eyes and pine for the chaos that reigns on the WTA tour to crossover and infect the men, and that’s okay. But tennis enthusiasts would be doing themselves a great disservice if while waiting for chaos they failed to acknowledge the resplendence of Djokovic’s halcyon days. He’ll have to continue to play at a torrid pace to finish his career as the player with the best winning percentage of all time. But the fact that Novak Djokovic is there right now is a testament to the distinctive nature of what he is achieving at the moment.

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