ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic slips out of Top 2, Daniil Medvedev reclaims top spot

The 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has lost the tag of the world's no. 1 ranked tennis player, as Russian player Daniil Medvedev has surpassed him in the latest ATP men’s singles rankings. This is the second time in 2022 that Djokovic has lost the top spot to Medvedev, as the latter became the 27th player to reach the no.1 spot in the rankings, earlier in February and remained at the spot for three weeks. However, Djokovic had reclaimed the position, following Medvedev’s loss in the BNP Paribas Open, before losing the world no. 1 tag again now.

Meanwhile, this is the first time in nearly 20 years that none of the big three players of men’s tennis,  Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are out of the top 2 spots in the ATP rankings. While Medvedev reclaimed the no. 1 spot, German tennis star Alexander Zverev moved up to a career-best of No. 2 in the rankings. On the other hand, the Spanish great Nadal remained at no. 4 this week, despite winning the season’s first two Grand Slam tournaments. 

Why did Novak Djokovic lose the no. 1 spot?

The reason behind Djokovic losing his no.1 spot and sliding down to no. 3 is because his points for winning the French Open title in 2021 were dropped off his record on Monday. As per AP, the ATP rankings are based on a player’s top 18 tournament results over the last 52 weeks, which can become 19, if the player participated in the ATP Tour Finals. He was last seen on the court during the French Open 2022, where he reached the quarter-finals before losing to Rafael Nadal by 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7).

Nadal meanwhile, went on to claim his 22nd Grand Slam title by winning the French Open title, after earning a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 win against Casper Ruud in the summit clash. He earlier got a walkover against Zverev in the semi-final, after the German suffered an injury. The runner-up at Roland Garros, Ruud also gained a place in the ATP singles ranking and reached a career-high of No. 5.

As per the official website of the ATP Tour, Medvedev currently has 7950 points to his credit, while second-placed Zverev has 7075 points to his credit. Djokovic sits third with 6770 points, while Nadal follows at fourth with 6525 points. Casper Ruud ranks fifth with 5050 points, while Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Matteo Berrettini wrap up the top 10 rankings respectively.

(Image: AP)