Daniil Medvedev, a Russian tennis star, took over as world No. 1 from Serbia’s Novak Djokovic on Monday.
Medvedev became the first man to hold the top place outside of the game’s “Big Four” of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray since 2004.
Medvedev, the U.S. Open champion, is the third Russian to reach the top of the ATP rankings, following Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin, and the 27th overall.
After Djokovic’s quarterfinal loss in Dubai, the 26-year-old Medvedev, who was beaten by Nadal in the Acapulco quarterfinals last week, looked certain to move ahead of the Serb.
Following his deportation from Australia in January, Djokovic, who has held the world No. 1 position for a record 361 weeks, was participating in his first event of the season.
Despite being thrown out of the Acapulco event after smashing his racket on the umpire’s chair numerous times during a doubles play, Alexander Zverev finished third.
Nadal moved up to fourth position after winning his third championship of the season and 91st overall. Since losing to Lloyd Harris in Washington in August, the Spaniard has gone undefeated. After that, he was set to withdraw due to a left foot ailment.