American great Pete Sampras said he does not expect any player to match Novak Djokovic's feat of winning the men's year-end world number one ranking seven times.
Earlier this month, the 34-year-old Serbian broke a tie with his childhood idol, Sampras, by clinching the year-end ranking for a record seventh time during his title-winning run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris.
"Seven years, for him, I'm sure he sees it as a bonus to all the majors that he's won," Sampras, who won 14 major singles titles before retiring after the 2002 U.S. Open, was quoted as saying by the
ATP Tour website .
"But I think he'll appreciate it more as he gets older. He did it at a time where he dominated two of the greats, in Roger and Rafa, and he handled the next generation of players very well – all at the same time.
"I do think what Novak's done over the past 10 years, winning the majors, being consistent, finishing number one for seven years, to me it's a clear sign that he is the greatest of all time."
Djokovic was presented with the year-end world number one trophy on Monday in Turin, Italy, after his victory over Norway's Casper Ruud in the season-ending ATP Finals.
"I was 'The Man' for those number of years, and he's been 'The Man' even more so," Sampras, who won 14 major singles titles before retiring after the 2002 U.S. Open, was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour website.
"I think he's been more consistent, he's won more events, he's got more majors. I could go on and on talking about his career. I don't think you will see (seven year-end number ones) again."
Djokovic is currently tied with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal on 20 major singles titles.
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