It will be the first time since 2004 that the men’s tennis throne is for a player who does not belong to the so-called Big 4 (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray).
Djokovic raised to 361 the record of last weeks as number one, before passing the baton to Medvedev, runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Medvedev will be the third Russian player to be number one in the world, after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.
The last player outside the Big 4 to be number one in the ATP was the American Andy Roddick on February 1, 2004.
To retain the world No. 1, Djokovic had to do better in the Dubai tournament than Medvedev in Acapulco, which also takes place this week.
Djokovic returned to the official competition in this Emirati event on hard surface, for the first time since December and Serbia’s defeat against Croatia in the Davis Cup semifinals in Madrid.
The Serbian star made headlines in January for his retention and subsequent expulsion on January 16 from Australia for not being vaccinated against Covid-19. He was therefore unable to defend his crown at the Australian Open, where Nadal was champion, thus adding his 21st Grand Slam title, standing out compared to the 20 of Federer and Djokovic himself.
In Dubai, Djokovic has been able to participate because the United Arab Emirates does not require vaccination to enter its territory.
He won two matches in this ATP 500, against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (58th) in the first round and the Russian Karen Khachanov (26th) in the second, but in his third match he fell to the surprising Jiri Vesely, who left the Spaniard out on Wednesday Roberto Bautista, 15th in the world and recent champion in Doha.
The 28-year-old Vesely has won five matches in this tournament, since he started in qualifying. He has now reached his first semi-finals on the main circuit since the 2020 Pune tournament.
In the semifinals, Vesely will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov (14th), who later beat Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis (99th).
In the other part of the table, the semifinal will be played by the Russian Andrey Rublev (7th) and the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (11th).
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
