It's "more complicated" to reach No. 1 with Nadal, Djokovic & Federer still playing: Daniil Medvedev
Newly crowned ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev has been dominating the tour lately. He hasn't lost a single match in November, and has beaten seven top 10 players on his way to titles in Paris and London.
The Russian even defeated the world's top three players at the season-ending event, becoming the first player to ever do so. But despite all that, the Russian player believes that he is far from reaching the World No. 1 ranking.
In Medvedev's opinion, the presence of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the tour makes every other player's aim of getting to the top spot 'complicated'.
Daniil Medvedev spoke at length about his rankings goals in an online interview with TASS after his ATP Finals win.
"It's still a long way to get to the top of the line [in the ATP World Rankings]. It all depends on me, the more tournaments that I have, like in Paris and London, the more chances I'll get to go to the top of the ATP rankings," Medvedev said.
"However, it will be more complicated to achieve this aim with Rafa [Rafael Nadal], Roger [Federer] and Novak [Djokovic] still locking horns on the courts, but I will try to do my best," he added.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, popularly known as the 'Big 3' of men's tennis, have ruled the sport over the last two decades. The fact that these three players have won 57 out of the last 69 Grand Slam titles highlights their dominance on the court.
The three players have also maintained a stronghold over the top position in the ATP rankings. Outside the Big 3, only Andy Murray has been able to reach that spot in the last 16 years.
You have to complete the season better than all the rest to become the World's No. 1: Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev also feels that getting to the No. 1 ranking is tricky because of the complex numerical permutations that affect your position.
"You have to complete the season better than all the rest to become the World's No. 1, and sometimes, 8,000 points can be sufficient. But on other occasions, 12,000 points is not enough," the 2019 US Open runner-up continued.
It is pertinent to note that Daniil Medvedev is yet to defeat Roger Federer on the tour, while he recently picked up his first win over Rafael Nadal at the ATP Finals. He has a 3-4 head-to-head record versus Novak Djokovic.
The 24-year-old is currently placed fourth in the rankings - right behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem.