Mats Wilander on Daniil Medvedev as number one: "Big difference between these two realities"
Mats Wilander spoke to Eurosport about the changing of the guard at the top of the men's world rankings. Is Daniil Medvedev now a deserved world number one? There would be different perspectives.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 05, 2022, 10:40 am
Believe it or not, for 18 years there were just four men - Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray - who made their place in the sun of the ATP world rankings among themselves. Well, last Monday, this dominance was broken: Daniil Medvedev passed the Serb after Djokovic's quarter-finals in Dubai and is number one in the ATP charts for the first time in his career.
This memorable event for contemporary men's tennis was of course also widely commented on by the most active observers - including Eurosport expert Mats Wilander: "I think Medvedev deserves it, but when he's on the court and number one every day, he might have to win two more Grand Slams while he's number one. But that's how rankings work," said the Swede.
Medvedev not the best in all conditions
So you always have to keep the way the rankings work in the back of your mind when you consider the importance of number one: "If you play a lot of tournaments and are consistent, you deserve to be the best," says Wilander. "Obviously one must not confuse being the best on any given day and having been the best for the last 12 months. Because there is a huge difference between those two realities."
The first - unofficial - match as number one (on paper Medvedev was already the new number one in the world at that time, but the Russian officially took up this position days later when the rankings were updated), the new industry leader had to do it right away give lost. As at the Australian Open, Medvedev suffered a bitter defeat against Rafael Nadal. In conditions that didn't seem to suit the Russian at all.
Don't write off "Big Four".
And that's the key point, as Wilander emphasized: "I think that in Acapulco, given the conditions, it's easy to explain why Medvedev lost. And that's his problem. He can't be considered the best tennis player in the world every day , regardless of the surface or the conditions," said the Swede. "That wasn't the case when Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic were world number one. They were often the favorites in all tournaments."
While there has now also been a changing of the guard in the world rankings, Wilander also appeals not to write off the great dominators of the past 18 years: "It's good for men's tennis, but it doesn't mean that the "Big Four" have disappeared from the scene .I'm sure they will keep fighting there and will continue to be very difficult to beat in five sets.That motivates them to persevere and raise their level of tennis because being number one in the world is still a part of them Goals."