Daniil Medvedev marks rise to No 1 with Acapulco win
Daniil Medvedev celebrated his rise to the world number one ranking with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarter-finals of the ATP Mexico Open on Thursday.
Daniil's great day continues with a 6-2 6-3 win over Nishioka ๐ฅ @AbiertoTelcel | #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/rx33ExotVA
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 25, 2022
The 26-year-old Russian rode a rollercoaster of emotions after learning he’d take over the top spot thanks to Serbian star Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final defeat in Dubai hours earlier.
But he got the job done against Japan’s Nishioka to stay on course for a possible semi-final clash with Rafael Nadal in a rematch of the Australian Open final, which was won by the Spaniard for his record-setting 21st Grand Slam title.
Nadal — who rallied from two sets down to beat Medvedev in five sets in the Australian Open final — was scheduled to take on Tommy Paul in a later quarter-final on Thursday.
“It’s not easy actually to play a match when you get this (news) during the day,” Medvedev said of maintaining his focus after learning he will supplant Djokovic atop the rankings on Monday.
Say hello to your next World No. 1 @DaniilMedwed ๐
๐ฅ: @TennisTV | @AbiertoTelcel | #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/jnZovV2ILe
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 24, 2022
“To be honest, I saw that he was losing, but I didn’t know that if he loses I’m going to become number one,” Medvedev said. “I thought that I had to do something big here. So then when I was receiving all the messages, well, I understood, OK, it’s gonna happen.
"I didn't know that if [Novak] loses I'm going to become No.1 – I thought I had to do something big here."@DaniilMedwed explains how he found out he had become the ATP's new No.1 on Thursday. #AMT2022 pic.twitter.com/PdyXdBlTH0
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 25, 2022
Congratulations also to a very deserving @DaniilMedwed, who will now become world number 1. ๐๐
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) February 24, 2022
“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.”
Medvedev will become the first man since 2004 outside the game’s “Big Four” of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, to occupy the number one spot.
Guess what this guy's ranking is going to be next week ๐๐ฅ๐@DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/b9ixKJnbTy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 24, 2022
He becomes the third Russian man after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to ascend to number one.
Giant steps ๐คฉ
Monday, @DaniilMedwed will become the tallest No.1 in ATP history, surpassing Marat Safin.
6โ6โ / Daniil Medvedev ๐
6โ4โ / Marat Safin
6โ3โ / Yevgeny Kafelnikov
6โ3โ / Andy Murray
6โ3โ / Gustavo Kuerten
6โ3โ / Carlos Moya
6โ3โ / Boris Becker @ATPMedia pic.twitter.com/33pkXyNzMC— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 25, 2022