Novak Djokovic not thinking about losing No 1 ranking as Daniil Medvedev fires warning

Daniil Medvedev reacts to US Open win over Novak Djokovic

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Novak Djokovic has downplayed the race for world No 1 with Daniil Medvedev closing in on his top spot of the rankings. The Russian could become the first man outside of the Big Four since 2004 to hold the world No 1 spot and has made no secret that he’s ready to try and steal the ranking from Djokovic.

The Big Four reign at the top of tennis could come to an end this week, with world No 2 Daniil Medvedev in contention for the top spot.

Whether he can clinch the world No 1 ranking will depend on both his performance at the Acapulco ATP 500 and Djokovic’s at the Dubai ATP 500.

The Serb already holds the record for the longest total number of weeks at world No 1 for a male singles player with 361 but could be denied the chance to surpass Steffi Graf’s all-time record of 377 weeks if the 26-year-old overtakes him.

He can still hold onto the top spot if Medvedev loses a few rounds earlier than him at their respective tournaments but even a title win in Dubai won’t be enough for Djokovic if the Russian also wins his tournament in Acapulco.

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While there are some scenarios that would see Medvedev denied of reaching world No 1, the current top-ranked player has admitted he isn’t thinking about it and is ready to accept an eventual change of the guard.

“At the moment, no, to be honest with you,” he said when asked whether he knew the scenarios that would help him keep the top ranking.

Djokovic, who defeated Medvedev’s compatriot Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6(2) on Wednesday, said he had kept up with the ranking points when he was looking to secure his own records but wasn’t focusing on the Russian’s fight for No 1.

“I’ve been aware in the past when I was in the race for No 1 to end up the season No 1. Of course, I’ve known the different scenarios,” he continued, admitting that he knew the current world No 2 would take his spot soon enough.

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“But right now I’m really not thinking about it. As I said, it’s very soon going to happen, the No 1 transition.”

Meanwhile, Medvedev has shown he’s up for the challenge of claiming the top spot after admitting it was no longer an unattainable dream and instead of a goal he was fighting for.

Speaking after his 6-1 6-2 victory over Pablo Andujar in Acapulco he said: “When you’re young you feel like it’s impossible, so that’s why you dream about it. When it becomes closer to you, you dream less about it and do more to achieve it.

“It’s not even a dream anymore, it’s a goal to play well these next three tournaments. If I manage to do it, I’m going to have a chance, and if I don’t, then it’s my fault in a way, but it’s also an experience, so that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

The US Open champion also downplayed some of the hype surrounding his impending ascent to the world No 1 ranking as he admitted it was down to him to win enough matches and become the best player in men’s tennis.

“It’s going to be fun but first I need to achieve it because it’s going to hurt even more if we talk about this and I don’t make it,” he admitted.

“So that’s my main goal – to try and win as many matches as possible in the next three weeks and then see: where did I come?”

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