Daniil Medvedev achieved a major milestone at the 2021 US Open, when he won his first Grand Slam title in his third final. Fueled by the 2,000 ATP ranking points he gained from trophy run, the 26-year-old has now broken new ground to make his debut at world No. 1.
With Monday's release of the latest ATP Rankings, he ends Novak Djokovic's 79-week run at the top spot after the Serb's quarterfinal loss in Dubai last week and Medvedev's semifinal showing in Acapulco.
It's a historic moment for Medvedev personally, but also in the larger context of tennis history. The Russian is the first man outside of the "Big Four"—Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray— to own the No. 1 ranking since February 2004, when 2003 US Open champ Andy Roddick ceded it to Federer.
Medvedev first reached the No. 2 spot just under one year ago, and exclusively owned that position since May.
A hard-court connoisseur, Medvedev first established himself among the game's elite during the 2019 US Open Series and US Open. In a four-event stretch, he won two titles and reached two finals, capped off with a five-set championship epic against Nadal as he fell just short of glory in New York.
He was named the 2019 US Open Series Breakout Performer (alongside that summer's eventual US Open champ Bianca Andreescu) for his success in the buildup to the Open, highlighted by his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open. He beat Djokovic on he way to the Cincinnati title.
"When you are young, you think that it's impossible, so that's why you dream about it."
"Reaching the Top 5, which not many people in the world reach in their careers, is a big moment and a big breakthrough," he told USOpen.org at the time.
As he closed in on an even bigger moment in reaching No. 1, Medvedev spoke of a shift in perspective.
“When you are young, you think that it’s impossible, so that’s why you dream about it,” he said following his first-round win in Acapulco. “When it becomes closer to you, you dream less about it and do more to achieve it… It’s not even a dream anymore, it’s a goal.”
Count the goal as scored for Medvedev, a massive soccer fan who famously celebrated his US Open triumph with the "dead fish" celebration from the FIFA video game series.
It's was a fitting and self-described "legendary" finishing move for the man who has become the standard-bearer for the ATP's next generation, following the Big Four.
“All of us [in the younger generation] want to be the first one to do it, and to stay there as long as possible,” he told ATP Media prior to claiming the top spot. “To be the first one to break some of these milestones is a positive thing, if we can say, for the portfolio.”
Medvedev is in a very strong position to maintain his grip on No. 1 at least through the US Open. He will be defending quarterfinal ranking points at Roland Garros, fourth-round points at Wimbledon and relatively few points at the Masters 1000 level until the US Open Series, where he won the National Bank Open and reached the Cincinnati final last summer.
When he returns to New York for his title defense in August, there's every chance Medvedev will also carry with him the title of world No. 1.
