Novak Djokovic’s reign as world number one will be ended by Daniil Medvedev after a straight-sets defeat to Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
It will be the first time since 2004 that a player other than Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray topped the rankings.
Playing his first tournament of the year following his deportation from Australia, Djokovic was relatively comfortable in his first two matches.
But a combination of some unusual mistakes and an inspired opponent contributed to a 6-4 7-6 defeat that spells the end of Djokovic’s two-year spell at the top.
The Serbian has sat in the number one spot since overtaking Nadal on February 2, 2020, setting a new record last March for weeks at the top that currently stands at 361.
But next week that position will be taken by US Open champion Medvedev, who is through to the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
The Russian knew going into this week that a title would guarantee him top spot and, speaking at the weekend, Djokovic said: “He deserves to be number one. Eventually it’s going to happen. If it happens this week, I’ll be the first one to congratulate him.”
Czech Vesely is ranked down at 123 but has been playing well above that this week, and the 28-year-old is the lowest-ranked player to beat Djokovic for almost four years.
Djokovic retrieved an early break but Vesely, who won their only previous meeting in Monte Carlo six years ago, pressured the top seed’s serve again in the seventh game and held his nerve to take the first set.
He broke Djokovic for a third time in the seventh game of the second set and, although he was unable to serve out the victory, Vesely claimed the tie-break to secure a famous win.
