“Be the first to do it and stay in that place for as long as possible” Daniil Medvedev ‘excited’ to become the new World No. 1

“Be the first to do it and stay in that place for as long as possible” Daniil Medvedev ‘excited’ to become the new World No. 1

Daniil Medvedev

World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev could well become the ‘World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev’ if he plays his card well at the 2022 Acapulco Open where he is the top seed. Medvedev became the 2nd ranked player on 15th March 2021 and since then has been trailing the current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic who had one of the best individual Grand Slam seasons.

However, with Novak now dropping points due to his absence from the Tour as his unvaccinated situation against the Covid-19 virus has led to him not being allowed in countries, Medvedev now has a good chance to replace the Serbian and become the new World No. 1 player in nearly 2 decades apart from the quartet of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

“We can never know what will happen in tennis. It can be done in five years, maybe in two years or in the next few weeks. But someone will be a new world number 1 for the first time in 16 years (actually 18 years). These 4 guys (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray) were in front until now. 

“At some point, it will happen. And of course, we all want to be the first to do it and to stay in that place for as long as possible. I don’t consider myself the leader of anything at all, but becoming the first to take this step would be a positive thing for my portfolio. So I want to continue to play good tennis,” said Medvedev during his recent interview with Tennis TV in Mexico.

How can Daniil Medvedev become the new World No. 1?

Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev

The most direct way for Daniil is to win the title in Mexico and not care about what Novak is able to do in Dubai. With both the tournaments offering 500 points, the draws are tough but given Medvedev’s consistency in recent years, he could very well win the title and also ascend to the top of the ATP rankings.

  • Medvedev wins the Acapulco Open, then irrespective of Djokovic’s result in Dubai, Medvedev will be No. 1
  • Medvedev reaches the finals while Djokovic does not win the title
  • Medvedev reaches the semis and Djokovic does not reach the final
  • Medvedev reaches the quarter-finals and Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals
  • Medvedev reaches the second round and Djokovic does not reach the semi-finals
  • Medvedev loses in the first round and Djokovic does not reach the Dubai quarter-finals
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