Novak Djokovic reaches one number that no one will ever challenge

Novak Djokovic won his seventh ATP Finals this past weekend. That is a record number of ATP Finals titles. Another record Djokovic holds is weeks ranked No. 1. As of Monday, Djokovic has been ranked atop the ATP for a staggering 400 weeks, 90 more than Roger Federer.

The difference between Djokovic and Federer in number of weeks is greater than the difference between Federer (310) and fifth-placed Jimmy Connors (268). Of course, Novak Djokovic also has a record 24 Grand Slam titles, two more than Rafael Nadal. His 40 Masters 1000 titles are four more than Nadal.

All the numbers mentioned above are likely not going to be broken any time soon. Carlos Alcaraz appears capable of being a long-term great, but he still needs 22 more major titles to tie Djokovic for most Grand Slams, for instance. But one number might ultimately be more important than any other because professional tennis players play the game for one key reason: Money.

Novak Djokovic has made a lot of money in his career

With Novak Djokovic’s victory in the ATP Finals, in which he earned north of $4 million, he surpassed the $180 million in career prize money. That is a lot of tournaments won and that includes a lot of important and high-paying titles. Djokovic was already the first player to by-pass $150 million in career earnings as well.

The Big 3 of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal have won far more than any other players on the ATP tour. Some of this is due to tournaments paying more than they did in the 1970s when Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe were winning tournaments. But the Big 3 have also won more Grand Slams than anyone else and those tournaments, along with the ATP Finals, pay more than other events.

For instance, no one would say that Alexander Zverev is the sixth-best player ever, but he does have the sixth-most prize money won. Still, the difference between the Big 3 and number four Andy Murray is substantial. Federer has won the third-most money at $130,594,339 but Murray has won $64,246,026.

The difference betweenwhat Novak Djokovic has won compared to second-place Nadal is about $46 million. If one player had won just $46 million, they would rank fifth in career prize money. That is how much greater Djokovic is compared to any other player.