Novak Djokovic to return to world number one after Indian Wells Masters

Daniil Medvedev’s first time being world number one in men’s tennis was short lived. On Monday, Medvedev lost his third round matchup at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters to Gael Monfils of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Due to the fact Medvedev was unable to qualify for the quarterfinals in southern California this week, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic will return to first in the world after Indian Wells according to the Hindustan Times.

Medvedev initially reached number one at the end of February when he reached the semifinals of the 2022 Mexican Open in Acapulco, and Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championship to Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic. However, according to Eurosport, Medvedev will return to number one if he reaches the semifinals of the Miami Masters, which starts on March 23.

There is some good news on the Djokovic front. After not being allowed access into Australia for the 2022 Australian Open and into the United States for the ATP Masters 1000 Series events in Indian Wells and Miami because he is unvaccinated, Djokovic has been granted access into France for the 2022 French Open if there is no significant increase in coronavirus numbers in France over the next two months.

Meanwhile in Indian Wells, the men’s quarterfinals are set. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios will play Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie will play Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov will play Russia’s Andrey Rublev and American Taylor Fritz will play Serbia’s Miomor Kecmanovic. Norrie is the defending Indian Wells champion.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek of Poland will face Simona Halep of Romania in one of two semifinals on Friday. The two women’s quarterfinals on Thursday have Spain’s Paula Badosa against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova, and Greece’s Maria Sakkari against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. Badosa is the defending Indian Wells champion on the women’s side. 

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