Medvedev officially ousts Djokovic as tennis king

Russian ace Daniil Medvedev has made history by becoming his country's third male world tennis number one, knocking Novak Djokovic off the top spot.

Reigning US Open champion Medvedev did this by reaching 8,615 points through a run to the semi-finals at the Mexican Open, where he was beaten by recent Australian Open foe Rafael Nadal, and therefore overtaking Djokovic's tally of 8,465 points.

"Of course I am happy to reach No. 1. It was my goal since I was young and especially my goal in the latest times," remarked Medvedev to the ATP.

"I got a lot of messages from many people and from other tennis players and I just want to thank everybody for the big support."

Djokovic was one of those players and took to Twitter last week to congratulate the 26-year-old when it became clear that a "very deserving" Medvedev would take his standing after Djokovic also lost to Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Open.  

Eleven-time Grand Slam champion and two-time winner of the calendar Grand Slam Rod Laver congratulated Medvedev on his "milestone" in becoming the 27th world number one too. 

As the third Russian to be men's world number one after compatriots Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin, who were the top-ranked players for just six and nine weeks respectively, the 6ft 6in Medvedev is also the tallest man in history to stand at the summit of the ATP and the sixth-oldest to become number one for the first time in his career.

Most impressive of all, however, is the fact that Medvedev is the first player not from the 'Big Four' of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to be number one since February 1, 2004 – or, more specifically, the first man in 18 years, three weeks and six days to get the better of them.

Medvedev is the first new number one since Andy Murray on November 7, 2016, before an era of Djokovic dominance swept in.

As the 'Big Four' age, Medvedev could now kick on and leave his mark on the next generation after becoming world number one for the first time in his career and lifting his maiden Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows last year to accompany 13-tour level titles.