“Probably I finish No. 4 in the world unless Taylor pulls a big upset”: Daniil Medvedev blindsided as Fritz snatches top-4 spot

Taylor Fritz has dashed Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of securing the World No. 4 spot by clinching a place in the ATP Finals championship match. The American No. 1 pulled off a surprise on Saturday, eliminating second seed Alexander Zverev. Fritz now awaits the winner between Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud in the final.

Medvedev had a disappointing tournament, finishing with a 1-2 record in the Round Robin stage. He managed a win against Alex de Minaur but suffered defeats to both Fritz and Sinner, ending up third in his group. The opening match against Fritz proved pivotal, with the American claiming a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

The former world No. 1 showed visible frustration throughout the match, repeatedly complaining to the chair umpire about the balls, throwing his racket into the air, and even returning serves using the handle of his racket.

The 2021 US Open champion spent the entire season within the top 5 but failed to claim any titles. In the first part of the year, he played his only two finals at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, where he lost to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.

After his loss to Sinner in the Round Robin stage of the ATP Finals on Thursday, Medvedev ended his season and expressed pride in finishing the year as World No. 4 despite a challenging year. "Probably I finish No. 4 in the world unless Taylor pulls a big upset, which is amazing. Why I need to say it? It's amazing,"

"In the sport that is that demanding with so many players, I want to be No. 1 in the world, but I didn’t play well enough this year, by far, to be No. 1 in the world. Jannik is playing much better. He proved it many times," Medvedev said.  “But I’m No. 4 in the big tennis world. I’m super proud about that because, as I said, especially in the end of the year, I struggled throughout the whole year."

What Medvedev did not anticipate was that Fritz would indeed surpass him in the rankings by defeating Zverev in the semifinals. Fritz is now the new World No. 4 in the live rankings with 5,100 points, pushing Medvedev down to No. 5 with 5,030 points.

But the story isn’t over yet. Both players could drop further if Ruud manages to pull off another surprise by defeating Sinner in the semifinals and Fritz in the final. In that scenario, the Norwegian would finish the season as World No. 4, leaving Fritz in fifth and Medvedev in sixth.