Novak Djokovic’s reign as No. 1 will end Monday following his quarterfinal loss to Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely on Thursday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Daniil Medvedev will take over the top spot in the world rankings for the first time, becoming the third Russian man to do so after Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999) and Marat Safin (2000-01).
Medvedev, 26, also becomes the first player other than Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray to reach No. 1 since Andy Roddick in February 2004.
After Medvedev reached the quarterfinals Wednesday in Acapulco, Djokovic knew he had to reach the semifinals in Dubai in order to retain his No. 1 spot.
Djokovic, 34, has spent a record 361 weeks at the top of the ATP rankings, including the past 86. The 20-time Grand Slam winner was competing in his first event of the year after missing the Australian Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Vesely, ranked No. 123, stunned the top-seeded Serbian 6-4, 7-6 (4) in one hour and 57 minutes. He also defeated Djokovic in their only other meeting in Monte Carlo in 2016.
–Field Level Media
