This month could see a big change on the men’s Tour with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev closing in on the top spot in the ATP rankings.
The reigning US Open champion is on the verge of becoming only the third man from his country to reach No.1 and the first player outside of the Big Four (including Andy Murray) to do so since Andy Roddick back in 2004. Medvedev has already come agonizingly close to the position this year at the Australian Open where he finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal after leading the match by two sets. If he had won, he would have overtaken Novak Djokovic in the rankings.
“I have been number two for quite a long time. I have been playing pretty well,” Medvedev told reporters last month.
“Of course, I want to become number one, win 25 slams, or something like this.
“But again, for me the most important thing is hard work, trying to improve my game, to be a better player, try to win every tournament I play.”
Now his next shot at the top spot occurs within the next 14 days. At present, he is 1240 points behind Djokovic in the race and neither player is in action this week. Instead, all eyes will be on tournaments in Acapulco and Dubai which will start on February 21st.
Medvedev will be the top seed in Acapulco and is one of five top 10 players set to take part in the tournament. Meanwhile, Djokovic headlines Dubai in what will be his first tournament of the 2022 season after missing the Australian swing due to a dramatic dispute with authorities over his visa which resulted in his deportation from the country. Four top 10 players have entered to play in Dubai.
Both events are categorized as an ATP 500 so points on offer per round will be the same. However, the race to No.1 also factors in how many points players are defending from the past 12 months.
The easiest way for Medvedev to seal the No.1 ranking would be for him to win Acapulco. If he does this, he will get enough points that Djokovic will not be able to overtake him no matter how he performs in Dubai. Otherwise, he will be relying on the result of his Serbian opponent.
According to the ATP, Here are the six scenarios in which Medvedev can become world No.1 on February 28th.
- Medvedev wins the Acapulco title, regardless of Djokovic’s results in Dubai
- Medvedev reaches the Acapulco final and Djokovic does not win the Dubai title
- Medvedev reaches the Acapulco semi-finals and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai final
- Medvedev reaches the Acapulco quarter-finals and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai semi-finals
- Medvedev reaches the second round in Acapulco and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai semi-finals
- Medvedev loses in the first round in Acapulco and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai quarter-finals
If Medvedev does become world No.1 he will become the 27th person to do so since the ATP ranking system was introduced back in 1974.
