Daniil Medvedev loses No. 1 ranking, Djokovic rises to the top again

Daniil Medvedev and his reign as world number one lasted only two matches. His recent defeat at Indian Wells cost him his ranking. The 26-year-old Russian was defeated 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 by France's Gael Monfils in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.

On Feb. 28, Daniil Medvedev surpassed Djokovic for the top position, as the Serb was unable to compete in the BNP Paribas Open after missing the first major of the year, the Australian Open. In addition, because of his vaccination status, Djokovic will be unable to compete in the forthcoming Miami Open. Since February 2004, when Andy Roddick had the No.1 ranking, Medvedev had been the first player other than Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray to achieve the ranking.

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In Indian Wells, the Russian received a first-round bye before defeating Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-2. However, his run was cut short as he was unable to overcome Gael Monfils in the 3rd round.

What is the reaction of Daniil Medvedev after such a dismal loss ?

After the match, the Russian Expressed, "I always say, when I play my best tennis, my good tennis, it's really tough to beat me. But that's the toughest part of tennis, to reproduce it time after time."

That's where (Djokovic, Federer and Nadal) are just unreal. Because no matter which conditions, no matter which surfaces, they are always winning tournaments a lot of the time or winning some crazy matches. I'm going to need to try to do better," he further added.

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The new rankings will be announced next Tuesday. As a consequence, Medvedev will relegate to second place behind Djokovic. However, the Russian pledged to restore his ranking at the upcoming Miami Open.