Daniil Medvedev is in danger of losing his world No 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic during the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament.
Djokovic recently lost the No. 1 ranking to Daniil Medvedev and fell behind in the Slam race against Nadal, both of which he’ll be eager to remedy.
Separated by just 150 points, the two will fight directly to see who leaves California at the top, as long as the Serbian plays there.
The draw for the men’s draw takes place this Tuesday and there is still doubt about the presence of Djokovic, as he still appears on the list of entries, but it is not known if he will be released to play in the tournament.
Although he is behind at the moment, Djokovic has the advantage in the dispute, as he does not defend any points until the next release of the ranking.
If Djokovic does not compete in Indian Wells, as appears to be the case so far, as the US requires proof of full vaccination for entry of foreigners, the pressure will still be on Medvedev and again he will need 180 points to keep from losing the lead.
The Serbian tennis icon is a five-time champion at Indian Wells Masters, where he hasn’t played since 2019.
Last month, Djokovic in an interview with BBC had said that his choice of not taking vaccination should not be related to the anti-vaccine movement.
“In understand the consequences of my decision. I understand that not being vaccinated today, you know, I am unable to travel to most of the tournaments at the moment.” Djokovic said.
“Because the principles of decision making on my body are more important than any title or anything else. I’m trying to be in tune with my body as much as I possibly can.” Djokovic added.
Djokovic is currently scheduled to play the winner of the opening-round match between Jordan Thompson and David Goffin in a second-round match on Saturday or Sunday.
