Medvedev sees path back to the top through Miami Open

Mar 14, 2022; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Gael Monfils (FRA) hits a shot as he defeated Daniil Medvedev (RUS) in his third round match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

March 14 (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev hopes Miami’s ocean breeze will ease the burn from Indian Wells’ desert sun, after a shock loss in tennis’s unofficial “fifth major” on Monday cost him his world number one ranking.

The Russian reached the top of the men’s rankings last month but had scarce time to enjoy it after France’s Gael Monfils knocked him out of Indian Wells 4-6 6-3 6-1 in the third round, with 20-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic set to regain the number-one spot. read more

Medvedev, who won the U.S. Open last year and lost in the Australian Open final to Rafa Nadal in January, said he saw a path back to the top at the Miami Open later this month.

“I have Miami to try to get it back. Usually feeling a little bit better in Miami in terms of tennis,” said Medvedev, who admitted he was less suited to the California desert venue, where he has never made it past the fourth round.

“I always say, when I play my best tennis, my good tennis, it’s really tough to beat me. But that’s the toughest part of tennis is to reproduce it time after time.”

The 26-year-old will have had just three weeks to enjoy life as world number one when the rankings update but said he was grateful for any amount of time at the top, while in the pursuit of more major titles.

“You never know how your career’s going to turn. I want to try to be better than I was here,” he told reporters.

“The top 100, the top 10, some people stay there for long time, some people not. I think, yeah, to have this achievement in your career is definitely still a good thing.”

Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Stephen Coates

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