Novak Djokovic loss sparks astonishing 18-year first for men's tennis

For the first time in 18 years, someone outside the Big Four of men's tennis - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray - will be the No.1 player in the world.

The extraordinary statistic is set to become reality after Djokovic's shock defeat to Czech Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai International.

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Djokovic went down in a surprise 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to the World No.123, meaning Daniil Medvedev is assured of replacing him at the top of the men's world rankings.

The Serb needed to at least make the semi-finals of the Dubai event to have any chance of holding off the charge from Medvedev - who would have still become World No.1 regardless - if he wins the Mexican Open.

Vesely's stunning upset of Djokovic means Medvedev will become the first man outside of the Big Four since Andy Roddick in 2004 - to hold the No.1 ranking in men's tennis.

Equally as extraordinary as that reality is the fact Vesely remains unbeaten in his career against Djokovic, after his record to 2-0 against the 20-time grand slam champion.

Djokovic, who has spent a record 361 weeks as the world number one, said at the start of the tournament that he "would be the first to congratulate" Medvedev, if the Russian succeeded in his quest for the summit.

US Open champion Medvedev, currently involved in the Acapulco tournament, becomes the third Russian man after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin to ascend to the world number one spot.

"I'm lacking a little bit of the match play. You can see that. I'm still finding the groove on the court," admitted Djokovic.

The 34-year-old also fears not being able to recapture the rhythm of matches, because his vaccination status could prevent him from competing consistently, is a concern.

Novak Djokovic suffers from lack of court time

"It is. The more matches I play, the more comfortable I get on the court," said Djokovic, who currently cannot enter the United States for next month's Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

"I need the match play. I didn't have many matches at all last few months. Let's see."

Vesely, a former junior number one, has won five matches in Dubai so far this week, making it through qualifying to reach his first tour-level semi-final since Pune in 2020.

"It's an amazing feeling. I never thought I would really have a chance against Novak, he's one of the greatest of all time, if not the best," he said.

"After the last 12 months, I've been going through… it's unbelievable, I have so many emotions inside, it's hard to describe, it's just an amazing feeling," added Vesely, who next takes on Denis Shapovalov for a place in the final.

The 28-year-old, who survived a serious car crash last year, came out victorious in his only previous meeting with Djokovic, defeating the Serb on the clay courts of Monte Carlo back in 2016.

Vesely started the match by breaking Djokovic on his way to a 2-0 lead.

He lost his advantage as the top seed struck back but some clever drop shots and some tricky lefty serves saw the towering Czech inch ahead once again and he served out the opening set on the 47-minute mark.

A down-the-line backhand drive earned Vesely a break in the seventh game of the second set but he wobbled while serving for the victory as Djokovic pegged him back to level for 5-5.

Vesely raced to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak and soon completed a huge surprise win over the five-time Dubai champion.

with agencies

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