Djokovic attains seven-year milestone as World No.1 following Medvedev loss

Novak Djokovic reached a remarkable seven years cumulative time spent at the top of the world rankings after Daniil Medvedev lost at the Miami Open.

The Russian would have reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking had he reached the semi-finals, but he lost his quarter-final clash to Hubert Hurkacz. Medvedev entered Thursday’s clash knowing a win over the Pole would have seen him return to the top of the world rankings. However, the 26-year-old struggled amid difficult conditions and lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 to the reigning champion.

This means Djokovic remains atop the world rankings, securing his 364th week as the best in the world - which adds up to seven years in total. It is a stunning record that will be difficult to stop, considering he is 54 weeks clear of rival and fellow tennis great Roger Federer.

Medvedev had to deal with dizziness and fatigue during the match, and was disappointed to not perform at his very best during the ATP Masters 1000 event. In his post-match press conference, Medvedev appeared to be relatively content despite missing the chance to achieve the milestone of world’s best.

“For me, was more important in a way just to win the match itself than to become a No. 1 by winning the match,” Medvedev told reporters. “I saw it more as a bonus. So I don't feel like I was tight or anything because of this.

"To be honest, I played a lot of matches where I had the pressure, different [types], and it's not like something new happened today in terms of like going out of court and feeling crazy tight or something. So I don't think that nerves were part of this.”