"Carlos Alcaraz is going to finish No. 1" - Daniil Medvedev backs the Spaniard to dethrone Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev recently backed Carlos Alcaraz to reclaim his World No. 1 ranking and dethrone Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic and Alcaraz have been battling it out for the No. 1 ranking all year. The Spaniard held the top spot going into the 2023 US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year. But the Serb had a chance to overthrow his rival with a victory in his first-round match against Frenchman Alexandre Muller at the New York Slam.
That's exactly what happened, as Djokovic marked a triumphant return to Flushing Meadows and cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 win against Muller, officially becoming the World No. 1 when the rankings were updated after his title win at the tournament.
Daniil Medvedev recently advanced to the 2023 China Open quarterfinals and later attended a press conference where he was asked if he saw himself claiming the top ranking at the end of the season.
While the dream exists, the World No. 3 said that it appears to be impossible for him right now because Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are both many points ahead of him.
"For end of the year would be tough. I mean, I guess I can, but I need to win every tournament that I'm going to play. That's what I always try to do everywhere I play. I want to win. The dream is for sure here," Medvedev said.
"But at the moment it's very far because I think Novak is more than 2,000 points away from me. Carlos is like 2,000. Even if Novak maybe is not going to play that much, Carlos is playing all the tournaments," he added.
Medvedev then predicted that Carlos Alcaraz would complete the season as the World No. 1 and backed him to dethrone Djokovic:
"Right now by the logic I would say Carlos is going to finish No. 1 because he's going to play a little bit more tournaments than Novak. But let's see," the former US Open champion stated.
Daniil Medvedev ended Carlos Alcaraz's US Open title defense
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open. As he approached the 2023 edition of the tournament, there were high expectations for him to defend his title successfully.
However, little did the player know that he would face a difficult opponent in Daniil Medvedev, who would dash his dreams. The duo clashed in the semifinals where the Russian defeated the Spaniard in four sets, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Medvedev later played against Novak Djokovic in the championship match in what was a rematch of their clash in the 2021 US Open finals where he denied the Serb a Career Grand Slam.
However, this time around, Djokovic achieved sweet revenge by overcoming his arch-rival in straight sets, securing a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory and claiming his record 24th Grand Slam title.