New Race Leader Medvedev Challenging Djokovic & Alcaraz

Do we have an early three-way battle for year-end World No. 1 on our hands?

In charging into his fifth consecutive final in Miami Friday, Daniil Medvedev surpassed Novak Djokovic in first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Defending Miami champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is third in the Race, can also pass Djokovic and pull to within just 80 points of Medvedev should he win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday. Should that scenario play out, just 200 points will separate the trio.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

The Race is an indicator of which eight players will qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be played 12-19 November in Turin, and who will be crowned Year-End ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone.

A topic of heated discussion among tennis fans in recent weeks has been who out of Djokovic and Alcaraz is most likely to finish the year No. 1 following the Spaniard’s blistering form since returning from injury in February. But in reaching his fifth straight final – and winning 23 of his past 24 matches – Medvedev has emphatically inserted himself into the year-end No. 1 debate.

Medvedev won three consecutive titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai before reaching the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, where he fell to Alcaraz. In advancing to the Miami Open presented by Itau championship match, Medvedev has now reached the final of all six ATP Masters 1000 hard-court events.

He won titles in Cincinnati and Shanghai in 2019, Paris (2020) and Toronto (2021). He also won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020. Medvedev, who is gearing up for his eighth Masters 1000 final on Sunday, leads the ATP Tour with 28 match wins on the year.