How Daniil Medvedev can replace Novak Djokovic as the World No. 1 without playing the Italian Open
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Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was unfortunate to not able to replace Novak Djokovic as the World No. 1 for a longer time as some shocking results saw him being come down to the 2nd rank once again despite Novak being absent from the Tour. The Russian is currently off the court due to his hernia surgery that he had to undergo at the start of the Clay season ruling him out for the majority of events and making him a big doubt for the French Open 2022.
Despite his month-long absence from the Tour, Daniil is safe in the Top-2, but can now rise to the World No. 1 at the end of this week when the 2022 Italian Open, also called the Rome Masters on the ATP Tour, concludes and depending on who are the semi-finalists, the Russian can start his 3rd week at the top of the ATP rankings.
Medvedev in his three tournament appearances in Rome is yet to win a match at the event. Last year, he was the second seed and had a bye in the first round that saw him reach the second round for the first time. He however lost in straight-sets to compatriot Aslan Karatsev. Novak on the other hand was the last year’s finalist and has a lot to defend at the event this week which can eventually see him being dethroned by the Russian.
In order to maintain his position as the World No. 1, Novak would have to reach the semi-finals or else Danill will be back on top without even playing at the tournament. According to the live rankings, Medvedev has already reached the top with 7980 points with Novak trailing in the second place with 7670 points, a deficit of 310 points.
In order to take the lead in the ranking points once again, Novak needs to be one of the four semi-finalists or else he will be making the way for the 2021 US Open champion. Novak can drop to World No. 3 if Alexander Zverev wins the title and Novak fails to make it to the last-8, in which case Sascha will be the new World No. 2, his highest career ranking with Medvedev at the top.
Novak Djokovic to start the Italian Open campaign in the second round
Djokovic has a first-round bye given he is the top seed. He will start his campaign against Karatsev who comes from a tight 3-set win over Lloyd Harris in the first round. As per the rankings, Djokovic is likely to take on Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, followed by a clash with Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and then a finals showdown against either of Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)