Tennis records have been equalled and falling quite a bit since Pete Sampras won his the record tying 12th major at Wimbledon 1999. Novak Djokovic just equaled Pete Sampras’ record of finishing 6 years ranked #1. Jimmy Connors finished 5 consecutive years at #1, and Pete Sampras bested that by finishing 6 consecutive years ranked #1. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are tied with Connors due to also finishing 5 years ranked #1. Those 5 players have combined to finish 27 years ranked #1.
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic. His quest for a record setting 7th year finished at #1 will begin on January 1, 2021.
*Rafael Nadal could take a wildcard into Sofia, win every match there and everywhere else he plays and have Djokovic pack it in to have a path to #1 for the year. This is highly unlikely.
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 