Novak Djokovic’s shock defeat to Jiri Vesely in their Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-final has ended his run of two consecutive years as the undisputed tennis No 1 with Daniil Medvedev set to replace him.
The Czech ranked 123 in the world beat Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (4) in straight sets.
With his defeat, Russian Medvedev will overtake Djokovic to become the new world No 1 on Monday.
The 26-year-old is the first player, not named Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray to reach the pinnacle of the tennis world since Andy Roddick way back in 2004.
Daniil Medvedev will become the @atptour number one on Monday.
The first man not named Nadal, Federer, Murray, or Djokovic to do so since 2004.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) February 24, 2022
Djokovic’s monopoly at the top lasted for a record 361 weeks but his deportation from Australia and the 2000 points it cost him as defending champion in Melbourne left the door open for Medvedev this week.
The US Open champion Medvedev becomes the third Russian after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to reach the number one ranking in the world.
Throughout the week, Djokovic knew of the possibility of relinquishing his top-ranking but he would have hoped for a better first tournament since his deportation from Australia. This was Djokovic’s first loss to a player outside of the top 100 since 2018 when he was returning from elbow surgery.
Djokovic leaves Dubai with an uncertain future due to his decision not to take any Covid vaccine. Earlier in the week, he conceded that “as of today” he cannot enter the United States in order to compete in Indian Wells and Miami next month.
His next appearance entirely depends on the Covid entry laws of the countries the tour heads through.
