Daniil Medvedev - On the way to the new number one?
After his victory at the US Open,Daniil Medvedev is1353 points short of world number one Novak Djokovic. A changing of the guard later this year, however, seems utopian.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 14, 2021, 06:45 pm
More than almost any other sport, tennis is characterized by its fast pace. Even after great triumphs, there is often little time for the absolute top stars to recover, as the latest example of this can be used by Daniil Medvedev after his title at the US Open: The Russian will continue at the Laver Cup in Chicago on September 24th.
However, the 25-year-old cannot collect points in Illinois, which would be of great importance in the race for world number one. After all, Medvedev had a few points to defend at the end of the year after his victories in Paris-Bercy (1,000 points) and London (1,500 points) last year.
Medvedev rules out start in Vienna
"I think it's almost impossible," said Medvedev at the press conference after his first major triumph. After all, according to the well-informed Russian, industry leader Djokovic, unlike him, did not take in too many points towards the end of last season.
Unlike last year, he will not play at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna either, because a tournament will also take place in St. Petersburg in the same week. Because of his ties to Russia, he will "definitely not" play in the Austrian capital, and a start in his home country is also unlikely.
Indian Wells tipped the scales?
In contrast to the ATP 500 event in Vienna, only 250 points are awarded for the tournament victory in St. Petersburg, so Medvedev would not make big leaps in the world rankings even if he won another title.
The only thing that could tip the scales was the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, which has been postponed to autumn, but a major attack by Medvedev in 2022 seems much more realistic than a changing of the guard in the current season: "It's not mine in my mind first goal to achieve that this year. If I can do it one day it would be great. "