(Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev did not need the points from Sunday’s victory in Marseille to replace Rafa Nadal as number two in the world but the Russian said it was a good feeling to get a 10 ATP title when e another rung on the ladder.
Medvedev’s rise up the rankings was confirmed earlier this month by Nadal not playing matches from the Australian Open to recover from a back injury.
When the rankings were officially released on Monday, Medvedev became the first outside players Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Nadal recorded in the top two from Lleyton Hewitt in July 2005.
The day’s celebration began earlier for the 25-year-old when he won 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-4 against unnamed French-Hugues Herbert in the final of the ATP 500 event.
“I knew I would be a No. 2 no matter what Monday … It’s always better when you step up when you do something great,” Medvedev said.
“I know winning here didn’t give me the points to be No. 2, but it’s good for my self-esteem that I won a competition before I went to Number 2 on Monday.”
Medvedev reached the Australian Open final last month, his second Grand Slam final after the 2019 US Open, behind a 20-game winning streak through the Paris Masters, ATP Finals and team-based ATP Cup which included 12 wins just above. -10 opponents.
His run ended with a loss to Djokovic number one in the world in the Melbourne final, and then he suffered a terrible loss for Serbian Dusan Lajovic at Rotterdam.
After that blip, however, Medvedev was back to winning in Marseille where he picked up his 10th Tour title – all on hard courts.
“I’m very happy about the number 10. It takes me to two figures, which I dreamed of when I was a kid,” Medvedev said.
“I think it’s a really good number already, but I’m going to try to do more and get a little more … I like playing on courts hard. I feel that’s where the game that suits me best is. ”
Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; edited by Peter Rutherford