Novak Djokovic has successfully clinched the year-end World No. 1 spot for a record seventh time after a win against Hubert Hurkacz.

With his 3–6, 6–0, 7–6 win over Hurkacz in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters on Saturday, Djokovic surpassed his childhood hero; Pete Sampras, who finished as world No. 1 of the year six times between 1993 and 1998.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner; Novak Djokovic overcame a wobbly start to register a win under his belt is what stood out the most. He will now be locking horns with young sensation as well as the reigning US Open champion Danii Medvedev. Both players were involved in a famous rivalry throughout this year. The ‘Djoker’ defeated Medvedev in the Australian Open final back in February but the Russian sensation stunned the Serbian icon in the US Open final a couple of months ago to win his first major Grand Slam.

Recently, Novak Djokovic ended up surpassing his long-time rival Roger Federer’s record after he won his first game at the ongoing Paris Masters. Djokovic on Wednesday beat Marton Fucsovics to advance to the Round of 16 in the men’s singles category at the Paris Masters 2021. In the process, Djokovic also became the player with the most wins as World No. 1 in the ATP rankings. Djokovic surpassed Federer’s record of 417 wins as the World No. 1 player in ATP rankings. The 34-year-old now has 418 wins as the world’s number one ranked tennis player.

In the Paris Masters, Djokovic holds almost every record in the singles category. He is not just the player with most event titles but is also the only individual to win it three times in a row. Novak is also the only player in the tournament’s history to successfully defend his title in Paris. The 20-time Grand Slam champion first won the Paris Masters title in 2009 and then went to win it three times in a row in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Novak Djokovic won his last title in 2019 after he beat Denis Shapovalov of Canada.