How Can Daniil Medvedev Topple Novak Djokovic From ATP’s Summit After Mutua Madrid Open and Italian Open 2021?

Novak Djokovic has held the World No.1 spot for the longest in history. Now that he owns the record, he passionately wants to extend it beyond anyone’s reach. Usually, it is his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer who challenge him, but this time it is the Russian powerhouse, Daniil Medvedev challenging for the top spot. And he could displace Djokovic as soon as Mutua Madrid Open and Italian Open 2021 finishes.

The current top 3 on the ATP rankings are – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Daniil Medvedev. However, it is World No.3, Medvedev, who has the earliest chance to topple Djokovic.

Djokovic is on 11963 points, Nadal has 9810 points and Medvedev has 9700 points. The gap between Djokovic and the chasing pack seems huge, but with the Serbian in danger of losing a lot of points, the gap is considerably beatable.

Why can’t Rafael Nadal topple Novak Djokovic?

The two tournaments in question are Madrid Open and the Italian Open. So, Nadal is defending 180 points from Madrid and 910 points from Rome. Thus he has a chance to earn points from the Madrid Open only, and that won’t be sufficient even after Djokovic loses points.

Daniil Medvedev’s advantage

The biggest advantage that Medvedev has is he is just defending 10 points from Madrid Open and the Italian Open. Thus he stands to gain and not lose. Whereas, defending champion in Madrid and Rome, Djokovic is defending 1000 points.

Djokovic has already lost 500 points from Madrid because of his non-involvement in the tournament. So effectively his total will be 11,463. So for Medvedev to go past Djokovic he will have to win either of Madrid Open or Italian Open and at least reach the semifinal in the other. This is all possible if Djokovic fails to reach the finals in Rome.

Djokovic is expected to make his return for the Italian Open. He surprised everyone with his withdrawal from Madrid. Whereas, Medvedev made a return to the tour in Madrid after successfully recovering from COVID-19. Both the players have been specifically focused on World No.1.

WATCH: When Novak Djokovic Applauded Rafael Nadal’s Mind-Boggling Tweener at Madrid Open

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