How could Daniil Medvedev regain No 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic despite remaining out?

Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev announced on Saturday that he had hernia surgery and will likely miss the upcoming clay season, including the French Open. The 26-year-old admitted that he had been playing with a small hernia for a few months and that he and his team agreed to get surgery to fix the condition. Medvedev took to social media to confirm his absence from the court for "1-2 months," implying that he will most likely miss the Roland Garros, which takes place in May.

"Hi everyone. The last months I have been playing with a small hernia. Together with my team I have decided to have a small procedure done to fix the problem. I will likely be out for the next 1 - 2 months and will work hard to be back on court soon. Thanks for all the support," Medvedev wrote on Twitter. 

Meanwhile, despite being ruled out of the clay season, let's look at how Medvedev, the current World No. 2 player, would be able to go up to first place, displacing Serbian legend Novak Djokovic.

Due to his absence from the clay-court season, the US Open winner is likely to lose 790 points, bringing his total to 7,620 from 8,410 points. In the next few months, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will have to defend 840 points. Djokovic will be dethroned by Medvedev if he misses out on the Serbia Open title and does not reach the final of at least one of the three clay Masters 1000s events.

Medvedev becomes World No. 1

In February this year, Medvedev became the first player outside of the Big Four of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to reach the No. 1 in the ATP rankings in 18 years. Medvedev achieved his career-high ranking after he reached the final of the Mexican Open and Djokovic lost the Dubai Tennis Championships quarterfinals. Medvedev, however, lost the World No. 1 ranking to Djokovic a couple of weeks after he had reached the top spot. Medvedev slipped to the second position following his loss in Indian Wells. 

Image: Instagram/ATPTour/AP