Djokovic no longer #1

[+ Charlie]

He needed to win this week's tournament in Dubai, but he lost a few minutes ago in the quarter-final to Jiri Vesely, a 28 year old Czech who is ranked outside the top 100. Vesely came through the qualifying and beat two other top players in the first two rounds, and did a real beatdown against Novak, winning in a second set tiebreak. Now Daniil Medvedev of Russia will become the first #1 not named Djokovic, Federer, Nadal or Murray since 2004, when Medvedev was 8 years old.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Charlie
typo

[BSR]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

He needed to win this week's tournament in Dubai, but he lost a few minutes ago in the quarter-final to Jiri Vesely, a 28 year old Czech who is ranked outside the top 100. Vesely came through the qualifying and beat two other top players in the first two rounds, and did a real beatdown against Novak, winning in a second set tiebreak. Now Daniil Medvedev of Russia will become the first #1 not named Djokovic, Federer, Nadal or Murray since 2004, when Medvedev was 8 years old.

A helluva ride by the Big 4 ... never have 4 players oligopolized (is that a word?) the #1 ranking for so long.  I doubt it will ever happen again.

 

 

[+ WilliamM]

Good. Enough of the big three or big four.

[BSR]

Medvedev's knocking Novak out of the top spot was just a matter of time because Novak could not play enough tournaments to maintain the #1 ranking.  Losing all 2000 points from the AO was a blow that was almost impossible to recover from.

Now I have to wonder if Rafa, not Novak, is Medvedev's biggest threat for the #1 ranking.  Rafa has had a blazing start to 2022, beating Daniil twice, and so easily in Acapulco.  After Roland Garros, Meddy needs a substantial cushion of points because Rafa is defending only 45 points from mid-June to the ATP Final.

[BSR]

Well, it was fun while it lasted.  A scant 2 weeks after taking the #1 ranking, Daniil Medvedev surrenders the top spot back to Novak by losing to Monfils in the 3rd round.  Even in unfavorable conditions (the slow IW courts don't suit Medvedev's game), Medvedev should not lose to Monfils.  Not a particularly convincing showing from the world #1.  Medvedev can regain the top spot in a couple of weeks if he gets to the semis of Miami.

[+ WilliamM]

7 hours ago, BSR said:

Well, it was fun while it lasted.  A scant 2 weeks after taking the #1 ranking, Daniil Medvedev surrenders the top spot back to Novak by losing to Monfils in the 3rd round.  Even in unfavorable conditions (the slow IW courts don't suit Medvedev's game), Medvedev should not lose to Monfils.  Not a particularly convincing showing from the world #1.  Medvedev can regain the top spot in a couple of weeks if he gets to the semis of Miami.

Medvedev is vaccinated, Djokovic is not.  Medvedev is following the rules 

[BSR]

Hold the phone!  Because Medvedev lost in the Miami QF, Novak hangs on to the #1 ranking by the skin of his teeth.  Just 10 points separate Novak (8420) from Medvedev (8410).  Since Meddy will be out for at least a month with hernia surgery, Novak should be safe at #1 until Roland Garros.  #3 Zverev could conceivably take over the top spot if he wins every tournament he enters, but he's been playing like sh*t lately.  #4 Rafa is also out 4-6 weeks with a cracked rib.  #5 Tsitsipas is too far behind.

For those who don't follow tennis that closely, 8420 is a very low point total for the #1 player.  The #1 usually racks up between 10,000 to 12,000.  At the peak of his dominance, Novak set the record for ATP ranking points -- 16,950!  Novak does not have the record low for a #1 player, however.  That dubious distinction belongs to Rafa, who took over the #1 spot on 8/21/17 with just 7645.

[+ WilliamM]

Why aren't we discussing young  Carlos's win in Miami?

Instead of Novak yet again.

[+ Charlie]

On 4/5/2022 at 7:22 PM, WilliamM said:

Why aren't we discussing young  Carlos's win in Miami?

Instead of Novak yet again.

Because it's not relevant to the topic of this thread. Alcaraz is worth his own thread, if you want to start one.

Edited April 7, 2022 by Charlie

[BSR]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

Because it's not relevant to the topic of this thread. Alcaraz is worth his own thread, if you want to start one.

Anyone who doesn't want to discuss or hear about Novak at #1 always has the option of avoiding this thread.

[+ WilliamM]

Interested responses  because it seems Novak Djokovic is relevant in every tennis thread