At the end of his dreams - Daniil Medvedev becomes number one
Next Monday, Daniil Medvedev will replace Novak Djokovic in first place in the ATP world rankings. The Russian has thus achieved almost all goals in his tennis career.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit:
Feb 26, 2022, 09:02 am
It could have been a beautiful and flawless day for Daniil Medvedev. The day the Big Four's dominance in tennis came to an end. The day when it was certain that he himself would soon take over the number one position in the world rankings.
But Medvedev, the 26-year-old Muscovite, couldn't be happy on Thursday evening in Acapulco, Mexico - expressionless and almost disturbed, he looked into the cameras when he said about his contradictory feelings and the Russian invasion of Ukraine: "Wake up here in Mexico and It wasn't easy to see the news." As a sporty world traveler, he always sees himself as an ambassador of peace, says Medvedev, "and it's not easy to see and hear this news. This is a moment when tennis is not so important."
Medvedev's overshadowed jump to the top of the world rankings, which was favored by Novak Djokovic's (34) defeat in the round of 16 in Dubai and will now come into force next Monday, is still a turning point for top tennis. Because for the first time since 2004 there is an actor on the summit who is not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. Medvedev is considered by many in the industry to be a surprise man, players like Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas have long been treated as potential number one candidates.
But unlike Medvedev, Zverev, for example, lacked the mental stability and sporting consistency to realize great ambitions at a younger age. It was almost symptomatic that Zverev was disqualified at the tournament in Acapulco due to a catastrophic black-out - and competitor Medvedev now appeared as a sporting front man in that competition.
Nadal could be involved for number one
Whether Medvedev can stay at the top for a long time remains to be seen. A wrestling with the now replaced Djokovic for first place is most likely, and Nadal, the Australian Open champion, could also play a role in this dispute on the center courts. Federer's career prospects at the advanced professional age currently appear uncertain. It remains doubtful whether he will ever return to the big stages after his two knee operations. Either way, 2022 could be his last season. Murray retired a long time ago as a contender for major titles or even number 1 in the rankings. After several operations and the insertion of an artificial hip joint, he struggles through the series of games rather laboriously.
Medvedev first caught the eye of a larger audience at the US Open in 2019, when he played his way to the final of the most dazzling of all Grand Slam tournaments. Two years later he also achieved his most spectacular triumph to date in New York - with the final victory over Novak Djokovic, who was also unable to realize his dream of winning the title in all four majors in one calendar year. Djokovic, eliminated in Dubai on Thursday against the blatant outsider Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) in the round of 16, was now also the first to congratulate the rival who was eight years his junior: "No question, he deserved it." Medvedev is after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin the third Russian player on the top spot.
Becoming number one was his big goal “from childhood”, said Medvedev later in Acapulco on that memorable, ultimately joyless day, “I would have wished for different circumstances at this moment. It was difficult to even play a match today.” And then Medvedev reminded us how natural it is to live together on the global tennis tour – far away from war, suffering and grief. Last week his friend Andrey Rublev won the doubles tournament with his Ukrainian friend Denis Molchanov in Marseille: "And that was great because people have to stick together."