Daniil Medvedev moves to No. 1 in ATP Rankings
Daniil Medvedev has become No. 1 in the ATP rankings, displacing Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic and ending his 361 week-long reign as the world’s top player.
Image credit: PA Images Daniil Medvedev in his match with Nishioka YoshihitoMedvedev has never been World No. 1 before but on being interviewed, he revealed that it was always part of his plan.
He said, "Of course, I am happy to reach No. 1. It was my goal since I was young and especially my goal in the latest times."
He added, "I got a lot of messages from many people and from other tennis players and I just want to thank everybody for the big support."
As Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 24 against Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic, it opened a pathway for the Russian tennis star to get ahead of the Serb.
Medvedev reached the semifinals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco, earning him enough points to pull himself up to the top of the rankings on February 28.
Rafael Nadal, who beat Medvedev in that semifinal in Acapulco, moved up to No. 4 in the ATP Rankings after landing his third consecutive title.
Andrey Rublev, who clinched his second singles title after winning the Dubai Open, moved up to world No. 6. Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021 after beating Djokovic, surpassed his mark of 8,465 points.
He now has 8,615 points, becoming the first player outside of the "Big Four" - Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray - to occupy the top position in 18 years, three weeks and six days after Andy Roddick's drop on February 1, 2004.
Medvedev is the third Russian after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to have become the top-ranked tennis player in men's singles. Kafelnikov's phase lasted six weeks and Safin stood atop the ATP Rankings for nine weeks.
At 198cm, Medvedev is the tallest player to hold the top spot in the history of the sport. He is also the sixth-oldest player to have done so for the first time.
Some of his notable moments include his first Grand Slam title at the 2021 US Open, an ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Toronto, the ATP Finals in 2021, and the final match of the Australian Open 2022 where Nadal defeated him.
To date, he has 13 tour-level titles, including four Masters 1000 crowns. Medvedev also snagged the ATP Finals trophy in 2020.
Medvedev entered the top 100 in the ATP Rankings in November 2016 when he was 20 years old.
In 2017, he participated in the first Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and two years later, he entered the top-10 mark for the first time.
The world stands shocked as well as impressed by his outstanding march towards becoming the new king of tennis.