Novak Djokovic Officially Returns To World No. 1 In Men’s Tennis

After a brief three-week interruption, Novak Djokovic officially returned to the world No. 1 ranking on the ATP computer.

Russian Daniil Medvedev had spent the previous three weeks at No. 1 but his brief reign ended after being defeated by Gael Monfils in the third round of Indian Wells on Monday.

“Is it better to be No. 1 for, let’s say one week in your life, or never touch it?” Medvedev said after his loss to Monfils. “I think it’s still better to at least touch it.

“Well, now I know I’m going to lose it, so I have Miami to try to get it back. Usually feeling a little bit better in Miami in terms of tennis, so we’ll try to play good there. I thought it could give me more motivation, well, I had motivation. It’s just that, yeah, I didn’t find my best tennis.”

Djokovic has been No. 1 for the most weeks on the men’s tour: 362.

In Monday’s rankings, Medvedev is No. 2 and Rafael Nadal, who suffered his first loss of 2022 to Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s Indian Wells final, is No. 3, followed by Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Fritz, the highest-ranking American, is up to a career-high No. 8.

Roger Federer, who has barely played in the last two years, is ranked No. 26, but it is unclear when he will play again.

Because he’s unvaccinated against Covid-19, however, Djokovic did not play Indian Wells and won’t play in this month’s Miami Open, either.

The 34-year-old Serb is cleared to defend his title later this spring at the French Open after he was deported from Australia on the eve of the Australian Open.

France recently lifted restrictions in almost all public spaces except hospitals, nursing homes and public transport, meaning the Roland Garros stadium should be operating at full capacity.

“As things stand, nothing stands in the way of Djokovic taking part in the French Open,” tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said.

Djokovic and Federer both have 20 Grand Slam titles, and trail Nadal’s 21.