Tennis
Novak Djokovic to reclaim No. 1 rank after Daniil Medvevdev's mini- stint
Losing in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters to Gael Monfils, Daniil Medvedev lost his No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, after just two weeks at the perch.
Novak Djokovic is set to reclaim the World No. 1 spot after Daniil Medvedev lost to Gael Monfils in the third round of the Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic will return to the top spot of the ATP rankings on Monday after Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev lost the World No. 1 spot, losing in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters, to a resurgent Gael Monfils, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Rising to the Numero Uno spot on 28th February 2022, Daniil Medvedev's debut reign as the World No. 1 was short-lived, lasting only two weeks.
The reigning US Open champion suffered from a semi-final loss to Rafa Nadal at the Mexican Open and a third-round loss to Monfils at the BNP Paribas Open, in consecutive tournaments, after his grand Australian Open runners-up outing.
Frenchman Gael Monfils is in brilliant form and for the first time in 13 years, he went on to defeat the No. 1 player. Although Medvedev looked sharp in the opening set, the Russian soon lost steam from the second and Monfils capitalised on that and gained momentum to claim the victory and in the process, dethrone Medvedev from the pole position.
"I'm quite happy right now - I'm in my zone," Monfils said. "I moved quite good and then I changed the speed quite a lot."
"I knew I was in great shape and tough to beat," he added. "It's always special to beat a World No 1," the 35-year-old revealed post-match.
With this resounding victory in front of a thunderous California crowd, Monfils booked his date with Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz who saw off fellow countryman Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 6-0 in his latest match.
This victory of Monfils guarantees 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic's return to the World No. 1 position again, even though the Serb has only played one tournament - the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the quarters to Jiri Vesely, this year.
Unable to play a string of tournaments owing to his stance about not taking the vaccine, Novak Djokovic's 2022 has been heavily disrupted. The Serb will make a return to tennis at the Monte Carlo Masters in April as the clay-court swing begins.
