Djokovic's record 361-week reign as World No. 1 to end; Medvedev to take over

Novak Djokovic was ousted in the Dubai Championship 2022 quarters to Jiří Veselý. Consequently, he has lost his world number one ranking. He has congratulated Daniil Medvedev on replacing him.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia suffered his first loss in 2022. Taking on Jiří Veselý of the Czech Republic in the quarters of the 2022 Dubai Championship, he was ousted in straight sets 4-6, 6-7 (4-7) on Thursday. As a result, he will lose his number one ranking to Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

It means that Djokovic's 361-week record reign as the world number one is set to end. Following the same, Djokovic took to his social media to congratulate Medvedev on claiming the number one ranking. He also applauded Veselý for producing an excellent gameplay display and wished him luck.

"Well played @jiri_vesely, that was a great game. Wish you the best of luck for the rest of the tournament. 👍 Congratulations also to a very deserving @DaniilMedwed, who will now become world number 1. 👏🙌," wrote Djokovic on Twitter. Earlier, the Serbian had promised that he would be the first to congratulate the Russian on his feat.

Djokovic has played just three matches this year after being barred from competing in the Australian Open due to being unvaccinated for COVID. Although he had claimed that he had an exemption to compete in the tournament, the Australian authorities were determined. Following a legal trial that received widespread media attention, he was deported, as Rafael Nadal of Spain won the competition, winning his record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.

Speaking following the loss on Thursday, Djokovic cited, "My goal is to keep on playing tennis. That's the ultimate goal. For as long as I feel like it and as long as I can play. As long as my body allows me, as long as the circumstances in my life as well, the people that surround me [and] support me."