Daniil Medvedev ends Big Four dominance as Novak Djokovic makes history

Call it the end of an era or the new world order but Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev have each made history that will see a seismic change in the tennis world.

While Djokovic has long been the world number one, he has now become the record holder for the most weeks at the top of the world rankings.

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Before Roger Federer, no male player had ever won more than 14 grand slam titles but the Big Four era has seen Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic all pass Pete Sampras’ former record of 14.

When Federer did it, it was almost inconceivable that some of his records would be beaten but Djokovic is working towards taking over the mantle, currently two grand slam wins behind Nadal and Federer but six years on Federer and a year on the injury prone Nadal.

After the Australian Open, Djokovic said he was gunning for Federer’s grand slam record next.

“Now that I’ve become the historic No. 1, I’m relieved,” Djokovic said after his ninth Australian Open title.

“Now, I’m going to be able to focus mainly on the Grand Slams.”

Nine Australian Opens is a lot.Source:AFP

Few would bet against Djokovic, who in 2016 was the first man to break the $100 million prize money barrier, ending his career with more Slams than Federer and Nadal.

His Wimbledon total stands at five to Federer’s eight and Nadal’s two. At the US Open, he has three to Federer’s five and Nadal’s four. “Obviously I have in my mind to win more Grand Slam titles and to break records,” Djokovic said. “Until I retire from the tour, I will be devoting most of my attention and energy to winning the other major titles.”

And despite having a muscle tear at the Australian Open, Djokovic will return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami from March 22.

It comes after he was accused of conspiracy theories related to the injury, and had a tumultuous time in Australia around quarantine.

But he also said he’s made his peace with the fact that it seems he’ll never be as warmly embraced as Federer.

It’s an unthinkable record but as he passes Federer for the most weeks as number one, it’s been revealed that Nadal will drop out of the top two on March 15 with Russian Australian Open runner up Daniil Medvedev moving into the World No. 2 slot.

The significance of that is in the Big Four era.

Since July 24 2005, when Nadal moved ahead of Lleyton Hewitt as a teenage to move behind Federer in the top two in the world, a combination of Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic have been in the top two ranking places in world tennis.

Is this the end of the Big Four era?Source:Getty Images

Medvedev has been portrayed as the villain in recent times, trolling the crowds at the 2019 US Open when he was peppered by boos after flipping the bird at the crowd and snapping at a ball boy.

“First of all, what I can say is thank you all because your energy tonight gave me the win,” he said at the time. “If you were not here today, I would probably have lost the match because I was so tired, I was cramping yesterday. I want all of you to know, when you go to sleep at night, I won because of you.”

The tag has followed him into 2021 with Medvedev booed by the Aussie Open crowd before he ultimately lost to Djokovic in the final.

The Russian had a chance to make the top two at the Australian Open and last week at Rotterdam but he will move ahead of Nadal when he loses 180 points from Indian Wells in 2019 with Medvedev to move ahead.

Federer, who returns to action in Doha next week after more than a year out of action to recover from two knee surgeries, will slip out of the top five on Monday.

— with AFP

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