Everyone prefers monopoly, to be part of something that the next person probably can’t enter. There are lots of clubs around where membership is regulated by strict criteria.
In the world of professional tennis, having a time as World No. 1 is a rare breeze when you consider how many people have played and are continuing to play at a very high level.
The world’s number one club * is the most exclusive club in tennis, with only 55 members; Even the All England Lawn Tennis Club (Wimbledon) has more and 500 members. The No. 1 club has 27 men and 28 women, and the two most recent members were introduced this year – Daniel Medvedev on 28 February and Iga Suatek on 4 April.
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When Ash Barty announced his retirement from tennis as the World No. 1, he, like many who had retired before him, called for his name to be dropped from the ranking list. By doing this Swiatek took the top spot by default but then after winning the Miami Open, he officially climbed to the top of the Everest in tennis.
“I mean, I’m still the same person, the same ego. I want to stay that way,” Svatek said as he rose to number one. “My biggest idols have remained the same; they are the same people. I don’t want success to change me in a negative way.
“Of course, it gives me a lot of confidence and satisfaction. But in my view as a person, I’m still going to be the same.”
But with the responsibility of being at the top there are positive and negative aspects. It’s important that you know how to deal with it. Rudyard Kipling’s poem speaks of treating the cheaters of victory and defeat the same.
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“I really enjoy having requests about what hours I want to play, and they’re really listening. It’s nice,” Swatek said with a smile across his face when asked about the best thing to be No. 1.
“I really enjoy… I don’t know. Maybe sometimes a gift. Maybe I can put more pressure on my opponent. I feel more pressure so it’s not enjoyable, but I’m doing well with it. So, I don’t enjoy what I do. I don’t know. I really like to ask for matches. “
His colleague, the newly-appointed Daniel Medvedev, had it for only two weeks and he liked it a lot even though he didn’t have enough time to fully taste it; One thing is for sure, he wants more. The problem is that a fourth-round loss to Roland-Garros could force him to wait even longer.
“It’s not something that bothers me, because I’m really happy that I was able to do it,” he said. “It’s something that no one can take away from me. A lot of players can’t take it, so trying to get back there is a great inspiration.”
For a total of 209 weeks, Rafa Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking, and in contrast to fellow legend John McEnroe, he took it in stride, suggesting in the past that it was a burden to be number one at times. Maybe more negative than positive. Unlike Roger Federer, he did not embrace it.
Nadal said he was unable to give a clear answer to the best and most difficult aspects of being number one. With his best humility, which is never in doubt, he said that he never considered himself No.1.
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“It’s just a number to me,” Nadal said. “My attitude towards me and all my goals in every tournament I play in has never changed if I was number 1 or I was number 3 or 6.
“So, this way, I’ve never felt the added pressure to be No. 1 or the extra happiness to be No. 1. Of course, when you get No. 1, it’s a beautiful moment. But then I never woke up. I think in the morning, OK. Yes, I am No.1.
“I just lived the normal life of being No. 1, No. 5 or No. 100. In my personal case, I just worked, no matter the number, trying to improve in the same way, and that’s it, no? In that case, I would never be number one. Or I didn’t feel the pressure to be number one, no, because my pressure is always the same. I try to be ready for the tournament I play. “
In contrast, Novak Djokovic, who was No. 1 on the men’s record of 372 weeks at the time of publication and set to surpass Steffi Graf’s 377-week all-time tennis record, said “No. 1 is the best and worst thing about being No. 1 because it is the ultimate challenge in this game.” .
He says it is his highest goal every season and makes it even bigger in the era of Federer and Nadal.
“The downside to being No. 1 is that you’re always being chased by everyone else who wants to dethrone you and win every single match against you regardless of the size of the event (but) I’m used to that feeling,” Djokovic said.
“Going to the No. 1 ranking is the ultimate challenge. It inspires me even more when I encounter people who challenge me to the top.
“It’s really a kind of personal sport to climb Mount Everest, especially in this age. It makes the achievement bigger.”
* Statistics on when computer rankings started – 1973 for men, 1975 for women
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