"I didn't even know I was going to become No. 1 if Djokovic loses" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev has revealed that he was unaware that he would replace Novak Djokovic as the new World No. 1 in next week's ATP rankings.
During a press conference after beating Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in Acapulco on Thursday, the Russian was asked how he felt about leapfrogging Djokovic in the rankings. The Serb had earlier lost to Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open.
In response, Medvedev suggested that he had little to no idea that he was going to rise to the top spot since the Russia-Ukraine crisis was at the forefront of his mind.
"Tennis sometimes is not that important, and definitely lot of feelings when I woke up... then Novak lost and before my match I didn't even know I was going to become No. 1 if he loses no matter what," the Russian said. "So then, a lot of messages, then I understood it is happening, more emotions... then finally most important state, you know, to try to win my match."
Medvedev also expressed happiness at winning his match, before claiming that the entire day was "a little bit of a roller coaster."
"I wanted to win, so was definitely not easy to play and I'm happy I managed to win the match. Yeah, that was a little bit of a roller-coaster day," he said.
"Tennis is a very friendly sport outside the court" - Daniil Medvedev on his peers congratulating him on his feat
During the press conference, Medvedev was also asked about the congratulatory messages he received from his peers on becoming the new World No. 1. The Russian replied that his fellow professionals share a great camaraderie off the court and that "players support each other."
"Yeah I got a lot of messages from other tennis players, think you know... in general, talk about top 300 players, everybody knows each other from challengers, then on the ATP tour," he said. "A lot of players support each other, even I try to congratulate people. It's like, everybody congratulates you if you come into the locker room after winning a title."
But he was quick to point out that on-court, things were very different. He also said he felt "at peace" after it became clear that he would rise to No. 1 in next week's ATP rankings.
"It's the same way with this one... Tennis is a very friendly sport outside the court, because on-court is different," he added. "Yeah, we're all at peace and that's how I felt today after reaching the No. 1."