Tennis Legend Marat Safin is convinced that Daniil Medvedev can dethrone Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and become the new world no.1
The Russian impressed when out of the blue conquered 6 consecutive finals starting from Washington until winning the ATP1000 in Shanghai. Later, Daniil lost 4 consecutive matches as he was completely exhausted after his incredible run. However, Medvedev showed pretty clearly that he has the tennis and the consistency to threaten the very best of the sport for the top spot of the ranking.
Why Medvedev can be no.1
Safin will lead team Russia at the upcoming ATP Cup. During a recent interview he commented:
“Russia is coming back strong and I’m happy to be part of this group. Hopefully, they will do a great job during the preseason with their own coaches and then maybe I can be useful for them during the ATP Cup and yeah, looking forward to my new job.”
Talking about the future of Daniil, Maart added:
“I believe he can be number one in the world. His all-around game. We just need to work on certain small things. I’m sure that his coach knows what to do, and I wish him the best to start the year well by winning the ATP Cup.”
Safin was the last Russian to lead the rankings, but that happened back in 2000 and it’s time for his country to have another man as world no.1.
Nadal in London, ranking, and results in 2019
Now ranked no.1, the Spaniard has a 52-7 win-loss record in 2019. Nadal ended his run in the round robin after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-74 6-4 7-5.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to surrender to Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 in the Round Robin in London.
This year Djokovic has a 54-11 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.
Daniil Medvedev’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.5, the Russian played his last match on the 15th of November when he had to surrender to Alexander Zverev 6-4 7-64 in the Round Robin in London.
This year the Russian has a 58-21 win-loss record. Daniil clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Sofia, in Cincinnati, in St. Petersburg and in Shanghai. The Russian was the finalist in Brisbane, in Barcelona, in Washington, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open.