The Australian Open 2022 finalist became the 27th man to reach the top spot since computerized rankings began in 1973.
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Australian Open 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev officially rose to the top men’s rankings on Monday. The Russian became the 27th men’s player to bag the top spot since computerized rankings began in 1973. The 26-year-old (8615 points) replaced Serbian megastar and 20-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic (8465) who held the summit spot for a record 361 total weeks. He is, incidentally, also the first player outside the big four — Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray — to reach the summit for the first time in 18 years, three weeks and six days, since Andy Roddick on 1 February 2004.
“Of course I am happy to reach No. 1. It was my goal since I was young and especially my goal in the latest times,” Medvedev said. “I got a lot of messages from many people and from other tennis players and I just want to thank everybody for the big support.”
He is the third Russian after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to achieve the feat. Kafelnikov held his position for six weeks while Safin enjoyed his top run for nine weeks which is still the highest for a Russian player.
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Interestingly, at 198 cm, Medvedev is the tallest standing World. No.1 men’s tennis player. He is also the sixth-oldest to reach the summit spot for the first time.
His rise to the top was inevitable after Djokovic slid to the second spot following his shocking quarter-finals defeat to Jiri Vesely at the Duty Free Tennis Championships. It was the first tournament of 2022 that the Serbian participated in after he was deported by the Australian government and barred from participating in the first Grand Slam of the year due to his unvaccinated status.
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Medvedev, meanwhile, once again lost to 21-time Grand Slam winner and Spanish-ace Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco in straight sets.
He is known for playing an unusual brand of tennis, with shifting a key element, and likes to use his long limbs to rack up potential winners off opponents’ rackets. The Russian first breached the World top 100 rankings in November 2016 at the age of 20. He has won 13 tour-level titles, including four Masters 1000 crown, with his only major championship win coming in US Open 2021.
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