John McEnroe chimes in on Novak Djokovic's year-ending World No.1 record - "That was the most important thing"

Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has several records to his name, but American tennis legend John McEnroe believes one of these achievements means more to most ATP stars than others.

McEnroe, a tennis great in his own right, won seven Grand Slam singles titles during his career. Furthermore, the former collegiate star reached the World No.1 ranking, a position he held for a total of 170 weeks.

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Ascending to World No.1 is a dream for most players, reveals McEnroe

Djokovic has spent the most combined weeks at World No.1 in ATP history, staying at that position for an incredible 428 weeks. The 24-time Grand Slam champion year ranked a World No.1 eight times, which is another record held by the Serbian.

In an interview with the ATP, McEnroe was asked about the importance of achieving such a feat during his career. The retired pro admitted most players in his era battled to reach the summit of the tennis world, as McEnroe himself finished the year as World No.1 on four occasions, from 1981 till 1984.

"It depends on the player, but the most important thing when I was playing was who was No. 1 at the end of the year," said McEnroe. "That was the most important thing. You were the best overall. Your results over 12 months were the best of all."

After suffering an opening round loss at the Qatar Open two weeks ago, Djokovic is set to return to the courts at Indian Wells later this week.

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