Daniil Medvedev will become the new world No.1 after Novak Djokovic was beaten by Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Medvedev entered this week knowing victory at the Mexican Open would see him move to the top of the ATP rankings for the first time.
But the Russian was still waiting to play his quarter-final on Thursday when his ascension was confirmed courtesy of Djokovic’s last-eight defeat in Dubai.
Djokovic, a seven-time year-end number one, had led the rankings for 86 consecutive weeks, boosting his record total to 361 weeks.
In his first tournament since missing the Australian Open, however, the five-time Dubai champion struggled to match 123rd-ranked Vesely and went down 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
Djokovic might have known what to expect, having lost his only prior meeting with Vesely in Monte Carlo in 2016.
