Following Novak Djokovic’s loss to Jiri Vesely in Dubai, Daniil Medvedev is guaranteed to reach the top spot in the ATP Rankings on Monday. He will become the first man outside the “Big 4” to reach World No. 1 since Andy Roddick in 2004.

Following his quarter-final win in Acapulco Thursday, the Russian is two wins away from starting his reign in supreme style behind a 14th tour-level title.

Hours after his impending place atop the men’s game was confirmed, Medvedev masterminded a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC.

“It’s not easy to play a match when you get this news during the day,” said Medvedev, who did not know that Djokovic’s loss guaranteed him the top spot until he started receiving congratulatory messages. 

“The first goal for me was to still win today because I’m here to try to win every match I play. But it’s definitely some great news.”

The 26-year-old broke serve six times in the match but twice found himself behind in an eventful second set as Nishioka provided a stern test with his shot tolerance and elite speed.

Four straight games against serve saw Medvedev close out the opening set then fall behind 2-1 in the second. The Japanese pushed his lead to 3-1, but Medvedev rallied to win the final five games of the contest, winning points from all over the court with equal parts power, consistency and delicate touch.

While Nishioka threatened on the return and hit several passing shots as he rallied early in set two, he held serve just once in each frame as Medvedev’s return game dominated. The Russian won an incredible 70 per cent (19/27) of points against the Nishioka first serve in the one-hour, 10-minute contest.

“Yoshihito is a tough opponent. I think his weak point is his serve,” Medvedev assessed. “He knows how to return, how to run how to make some crazy shots when you don’t expect it.”

Continuing his fine form from the Australian Open, Medvedev has dropped just eight games in his past two matches, and 15 in total on the week.

Making his debut in Acapulco, he improves to 12-2 on the season and does his part to set up a blockbuster semi-final against Rafael Nadal — a rematch of their five-set Australian Open final. The Spaniard later confirmed that matchup with a 6-0, 7-6(5) win over Tommy Paul on Thursday night.

“If I play Rafa, it’s always special to play against him,” Medvedev said. “Kind of a chance to get my revenge.

“I have to learn from the best, which is him, Roger, Novak, Andy. Always when they were losing a tough fight, they were trying to get their revenge. Sometimes they managed to do it, sometimes not. That’s what I’m going to try to do if I play Rafa.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas followed Medvedev on the Acapulco stadium court, and continued his ruthless streak with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American Marcos Giron. After dropping just one game to J.J. Wolf in the second round, an aggressive Tsitsipas commanded the quarter-final match behind a pair of early breaks, one in each set.

That early damage proved enough for the Greek third seed, who saved four break points in a crucial seventh game of the opener. That was the only trouble he faced on serve in the one-hour, 20-minute match.

Tsitsipas used his all-court game to control the match, making an effort to finish points at the net with regularity.

“I was trying to open the court, trying to come in on the short balls,” he said of his tactics. “It was very good overall. I was able to come to the net and close a few at the net. It did help me a lot to to generate even more confidence, game after game. It paid off pretty well.”

Tsitsipas will challenge Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals, after the sixth seed closed the Acapulco evening slate with a 6-1, 6-0 win Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk.

It’s noon in Acapulco and temperatures are soaring above 30 degrees Celsius. However, it is not enough to prevent Daniil Medvedev completing his first training session of the day. It does force him to take long breaks under a parasol though, and while he is still sweating off the exertion of his last rally, he picks up his mobile and stares at the screen. They are showing a Premier League match. Suddenly, he lets out a cry as someone scores a goal.

The Russian checks his phone every time he takes a break from training. And he will continue to do so throughout the day until he goes to bed. Why? Medvedev is an ardent Fantasy Premier League fan.

“Yeah, I really love it!” he said on Wednesday in Acapulco after reaching the quarter-finals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. “I play with my friends, I try to follow matches, pick the best team, so I really enjoy it, you know?” 

Fantasy Premier League is a game in which users earn points if the players in their lineup play well each match day. Medvedev plays it for fun and to get away from the stress.

It may be quite useful to him this week as he is attracting plenty of attention as he prepares to take over as World No. 1, which he will do on Monday. Instead of worrying about the results of his friend Novak Djokovic in Dubai this week, Medvedev preferred to celebrate the points he earns in the Fantasy Premier League thanks to successful outings from Liverpool player Mohamed Salah, the captain of Daniil’s team.

“Sometimes I get angry when someone doesn’t score a penalty or something like that. But it’s fun. Really fun. Also, it makes me follow a sport I love, which is also great,” said last month’s Australian Open runner-up. 

“For example, today there were three matches, I watched them all, and ‘triple captained’ my captain Salah, so I was super, super happy,” he added with a grin. Thanks to the Egyptian player’s goals against Leeds, Medvedev’s points were tripled and he had two reasons to celebrate after beating Pablo Andujar.

Sometimes it seems that Daniil is immune to the pressure others might crumble under with the No. 1 spot at stake. When he arrived in Mexico on 16 February in the afternoon, he relaxed in his villa eating snacks while watching a Champions League match.

“I really like Mexican food so far. I don’t know what else to tell you… it’s just really, really good,” said the 13-time ATP Tour champion. The beaches of Acapulco were also very much to his liking; he has been there several times to swim and surf with his wife Daria.

Considering the importance of this week in terms of his ATP Ranking, when Medvedev arrives at the tournament venue to compete and train, he doesn’t look the slightest bit stressed and his feet are certainly very much on the ground. 

“I thought Daniil was someone who might think he was really special… because of his ranking and because he’s a possible No. 1 in the world. But after training I found him to be a very down-to-earth and humble person,” said Roberto Llamas, one of the five knock-up partners provided by the tournament.

Before his opener in Acapulco, Daniil practised for two hours with Mexican player Rodrigo Pacheco, the junior World No. 14 , and he took his role as a mentor very seriously. Giving advice to young talent has always been a strength of his. 

“Medvedev was very nice to me. He gave me advice and told me to keep working hard, and if I went to his academy we could train again,” said the 16-year-old left-hander, who played in the Acapulco qualifiers.

It’s not that Daniil doesn’t care about the ATP Rankings battle: “Being No. 1 is no longer a dream like it was when I was younger,” he said following his first-round victory. “Now it’s a goal, and I’m working even harder to achieve it.” 

Jiri Vesely was delighted on Thursday after he upset Novak Djokovic for the second time in his career to reach the semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The World No. 123 has endured a challenging 12 months, but his strong performances this week have given him reason to smile again, with the Czech qualifier ecstatic about his run at the ATP 500 event.

“It’s an unbelievable run,” Vesely said in his post-match press conference. “I will try to do my best to go as far as possible, to maybe try and win the title. You never know. I’ve beaten three amazing players. I had a very tough draw. I never thought I would go that far. I’m really, really happy about it, especially after the past 12 months.

“It’s been a big struggle. I was losing my faith a little bit. It wasn’t easy. This tournament will give me so many positives for the upcoming weeks and months. Hopefully I’m on the right way. I hope to accomplish my goals that I have.”

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The difficulties that Vesely allude to include suffering from Covid last year, before he was involved in a car accident.

Those off-court incidents impacted his on-court performances prior to this week, with the 28-year-old dropping outside the Top 100 at the start of February. Vesely held a 1-5 record on the season before he arrived in Dubai.

“Last year, just before the tournament here in Dubai I was supposed to play, I got Covid. I was quite okay,” Vesely added. “Once I started to train, it was really, really hard to breathe, for me to work, to be able to hit for one hour, two hours. I had these struggles for maybe two months, three months.

“It makes you really frustrated, depressed sometimes because you don’t really know what to do. I was having all the health checks, talked to many doctors. Nobody really knew how long this could take.

“Then after three months, I finally found more energy to work harder again. Suddenly we had a car crash. It was out of tennis for another month. It has been just a very, very tough year with all the problems around. Dropping outside of Top 100 was another sad moment in my career because I’m always trying to go the other way.”

Vesely also upset Djokovic in 2016 in Monte Carlo but struggled to kick on from that result as he found it difficult to adjust to the pressure of the Tour when aged just 22.

However, the Czech believes he is in a better frame of mind to push on now and is hoping his strong run here in Dubai can provide the impetus for him to have further success. His victory over Djokovic also means the Serbian will relinquish his World No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev on Monday.

“I think maybe that win came too early,” Vesely said reflecting on his 2016 triumph over the Serb. “It was a big win. He was unbeaten in the year at the time. He won in Australia, Indian Wells and Miami. I was 22 years old. It was great to be really successful at that early age, but I think I just wasn’t prepared for that. Maybe now this win can help me much more than it did in Monte Carlo.

“Always when I had to play against lower-ranked guys, I was always struggling with myself. I wasn’t able to beat them. I was always looking at what people thought about me after the defeats. It wasn’t easy. After some time you get used to all the things. Winning and losing is just part of the sport. All this comes with the age I think, with experience.”

Vesely will look to continue his run when he faces Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals on Friday. It is the first time the World No. 123 has advanced to the last four at a tour-level event since he triumphed in Pune in 2020 for his second ATP Tour crown.

Novak Djokovic will surrender the No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev next week following his defeat to Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday.

However, the Serbian says that he is as hungry as ever to fight for more titles and produce his best tennis in the coming months despite the setback.

“My goal is to keep on playing tennis,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. “That’s the ultimate goal. For as long as I really feel like it and as long as I can play. As long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surround me [and] support me.

“I’m still motivated and I’m still pissed off when I lose a match. I care about it. I care about winning every match, as anybody else on the Tour, regardless of the age. I’m actually glad that I’m feeling a lot of emotions every single day because it means that I really want to be part of this sport, part of the Tour.”

The 34-year-old has sat atop the tennis mountain for the past 132 weeks and a record-breaking 361 weeks in total. He was competing in his first tournament of the season in Dubai. The top seed has triumphed at the ATP 500 five times and entered his match against Czech qualifier Vesely off the back of victories against #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Russian Karen Khachanov.

But Djokovic was unable to find his best level against the World No. 123, praising the 28-year-old for his aggressive and resolute performance.

“Unfortunately, [it] wasn’t my day,” Djokovic added. “I congratulate Jiri. He played better. He just went for his shots. His serve was big. His whole game was big. When he needed to come up with the good shots, he did, putting a lot of pressure also on my service games. His backhand on this surface where it’s really fast and it stays low is really effective.”

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This season, Djokovic has also seen Spaniard Rafael Nadal overtake him in the Grand Slam race, with the 35-year-old capturing his record-breaking 21st major title at the Australian Open in January. It means Nadal leads the way over Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are both tied on 20 Grand Slam crowns.

Djokovic admitted that while he needs more matches to regain his best level, his body is in good enough shape to continue to compete at the very top.

“The more matches I play, the more comfortable I get on the court,” Djokovic added. “I need the match play. I didn’t have many matches at all last few months.

“I don’t look at the age really as a restricting factor for my career. I still feel great in terms of my body and the way it’s holding on, the way it’s recovering. It’s been serving me well, so to say. That’s something that obviously encourages me to keep going.”

View Full List Players To Hold No. 1 ATP Ranking Here.

World No. 123 Czech Jiri Vesely upset top seed Novak Djokovic in the Dubai quarter-finals Thursday, guaranteeing that the Serb will cede the No. 1 ATP Ranking to Daniil Medvedev on Monday.

After Medvedev reached the quarter-finals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC on Wednesday, Djokovic knew he had to advance into the last four at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships if he wanted to continue his bid to remain atop tennis’ mountain.

LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE ⚡️ ⚡️@jiri_vesely stuns Djokovic for the 2nd time in his career, ending his reign at No. 1 with a 6-4 7-6 victory! pic.twitter.com/YXVuWHCuxq Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2022

However, the 34-year-old came up against an inspired Vesely, who played aggressively throughout to stun Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 57 minutes.

“It is an amazing feeling,” Vesely said in his on-court interview. “I never really thought I would have a chance against Novak. He is one of the greatest of all time. After the past 12 months, it is unbelievable. I have so many emotions inside. It is hard to describe. It is an amazing feeling.”

The Czech qualifier recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, recomposing himself to prevail in the tie-break under the lights on centre court.

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“Playing against Novak, he is such a great groundstroke player,” Vesely added. “He moves really well. You really have to earn it and fight for every single point. I think I did an amazing job today. I tried to keep the rallies short. Of course Novak had huge support. I love these matches playing against the best players in the world. Having full stadiums is something I have dreamt about my whole life. ”

On Monday, Medvedev will become the third Russian man to reach No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999) and Marat Safin (2000-01). The 25-year-old will also join Andy Murray (2016) as the only first-time World No. 1 since Djokovic first reached top spot in July 2011.

^{Photo Credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images}

The last player outside of the Big Four of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Murray and Rafael Nadal who has held No. 1 was Andy Roddick in February 2004.

“It is great for tennis to have someone new at World No. 1,” Vesely added. “Novak is such a champion, he has been No. 1 for 361 weeks, but tennis needs new World No. 1s and there is a new generation coming up and I think it is great.”

Vesely has now defeated the top seed twice, having won their other meeting in Monte Carlo in 2016. It is the first time the qualifier has reached the semi-finals at a tour-level event since 2020, when he enjoyed a run to the title in Pune.

The 28-year-old, who had never been beyond the first round at the ATP 500 event in three previous appearances, has now earned four Top 10 wins, with his last before he defeated Djokovic coming against then-World No. 5 Alexander Zverev at Wimbledon in 2019.

Vesely moved past Marin Cilic in the first round and then upset Roberto Bautista Agut to set up a match against Djokovic. The two-time tour-level titlist will look to continue his dream run when he faces sixth-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Ricardas Berankis in the semi-finals. Vesely held a 1-5 record on the season prior to this week.

Since Djokovic regained his No. 1 status in February 2020 he has won eight tour-level titles, including three Grand Slam crowns and three ATP Masters 1000 trophies. The 34-year-old was competing in his first tournament of the year this week in Dubai.

“I want to thank the crowd for creating a great atmosphere on the court for both players,” Djokovic said. “The crowd were cheering me on but unfortunately it wasn’t my day. He played better. He just went for his shots. His serve was big. His whole game was big. When he needed to come up with the big shots, he did. I expected myself to play at a higher level, but credit to Jiri.”

In other action, Denis Shapovalov overcame Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance into his first semi-final of the season.

The sixth seed fired 14 aces and did not face a break point to triumph after one hour and 32 minutes, improving his ATP Head2Head record against Berankis to 3-1.

The 22-year-old, who is aiming to win his first tour-level title since he triumphed in Stockholm in 2019, is now 11-4 on the season.

Shapovalov helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title in January, before he enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. The World No. 14 also reached the last four in Dubai last season, losing to South African Lloyd Harris.

Andrey Rublev extended his winning run to seven matches Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, battling past American Mackenzie McDonald 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event.

The Russian has been in strong form in recent weeks, advancing to the semi-finals in Rotterdam, before he lifted his first tour-level title since March 2021 in Marseille.

In a hard-fought match against the resilient McDonald, Rublev, who reached the last four in Dubai last season, found his range as the clash went on. The second seed crucially saved three break points in the second set, before he stormed to the finish line to advance into the last four at the hard-court tournament again.

“I just tried to keep fighting to see what would happen,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “At 2-2 I managed to break him and then I started to play better and I changed the match. It is a great result and I am looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. I am super happy, the most important thing is to keep improving.”

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The World No. 7 has now levelled his ATP Head2Head series against McDonald at 1-1, gaining revenge for his defeat against the 26-year-old at the Australian Open in 2019.

In front of a capacity crowd on centre court, McDonald started with his foot on the pedal, playing aggressively to force Rublev into errors. However, the 24-year-old showed his fighting spirit, finding greater depth and consistency as he broke in the fifth game in the second set to turn the tables, eventually triumphing after one hour and 45 minutes.

Rublev’s reward is a meeting with fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz, with the Pole going into that match with a 2-0 ATP Head2Head series lead over the 24-year-old.

Hurkacz reached his first tour-level semi-final of the season, overcoming Italian Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3.

The Pole arrived in Dubai having lost in the second round at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam this year. However, this week, Hurkacz has regained the form that saw him capture three trophies last season, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami, where he beat Sinner in the final.

The World No. 11, who has yet to drop a set in Dubai, matched Sinner’s intensity and ball striking throughout, winning 82 per cent (23/28) of his first-serve points to advance after 85 minutes.

“I am super pleased with my performance today,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “Jannik is a great friend of mine, he is such a nice guy. He has been doing unbelievably. His game is so good. It is so much fun to play in front of such a great crowd here.”

With his victory, Hurkacz now leads Sinner 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. It is the eighth time the 25-year-old has reached the last four at a tour-level event but the first at ATP 500 level.

First ATP 500 semi-final!@HubertHurkacz defeats good friend Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-3 to secure his #DDFTennis semi-final spot 🌟 pic.twitter.com/ulYgWAU3vf

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 24, 2022

By defeating World No. 10 and doubles partner Sinner, Hurkacz has also snapped a five-match losing streak against Top 10 players. His last Top 10 win before he downed the Italian came against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July.

Sinner was aiming to capture his sixth tour-level title this week, having enjoyed a standout 2021 season when he triumphed four times.

Tickets for the 2022 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals to be held from 8 to 12 November In Milan will go on sale from 24 February. Tickets can be found here on the official ticket website.

The fifth edition of the event will take place at the Allianz Cloud, the state-of-the-art structure in the heart of Milan. The tournament is considered to be the most futuristic event of the season for its innovative formula, the cutting-edge technological innovations and the presence of the best youngsters on Tour.

The tournament is made highly spectacular by the rules that enhance the rhythm, particularly the First-to-4, Best-of-5 Set Matches with No-Ad scoring. Such formula creates a successful mix, revolutionising the usual dynamics on court.

New rules introduced here and confirmed for 2022 include Electronic Line Calling, Video Review and Courtside Coaching opened up from the side-lines at the changeovers. ATP Tour partially adopted those enhancements pioneered in Milan.