Medvedev rises up rankings after title success
Daniil Medvedev has moved up to third in the updated ATP rankings on Monday, after the Russian earned his second title of the season in Vienna at the weekend.
Medvedev celebrated becoming a father for the first time by battling back to beat Canadian rival Denis Shapovalov in three sets in Sunday’s final at the Erste Bank Open in the Austrian capital.
The title was a landmark one for Medvedev, who has now matched compatriot Marat Safin’s tally of 15 ATP Tour-level singles titles, which is a record for a Russian male player.
Medvedev, 26, will be strongly backed to add to that number and showed signs of his very best form throughout the hardcourt showpiece in Austria.
The Russian number one was rewarded with a rise from fourth spot to third in the ATP rankings on Monday.
Medvedev overtook Norway’s Casper Ruud, and now has 5,655 points to his name.
He trails Spanish rival Rafael Nadal, who has 5,810 points, and world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who has 6,730.
Elsewhere in the top ten, Russia’s Andrey Rublev slipped one place to ninth spot after a disappointing early exit in Vienna.
Rublev is still aiming to secure his place among the eight players at the season-ending ATP Finals next month.
Medvedev has already booked his place at the ATP showpiece, which runs in Turin from November 13 to 20.
Medvedev is a former winner of that title, having won the 2020 edition of the tournament in London.
Before heading to Italy, Medvedev travels to France for the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris this week – a competition he also won in 2020 and was a beaten finalist at last year.
Medvedev has had mixed fortunes in 2022, having reached the world number one spot for the first time back in February and subsequently enjoying a total of 16 weeks as ATP leader across two spells.
He reached the final of the Australian Open at the start of the season, but suffered a setback with hernia surgery prior to the French Open.
Medvedev and his compatriots were banned from Wimbledon, before he returned to claim a first title of the season at the Los Cabos Open in Mexico in August.
However, the Moscow-born star suffered a fourth-round exit at the US Open, where he was defending champion.
Medvedev has stated his desire to finish the season strongly and put himself in prime position to recapture the world number one spot and more Grand Slam titles in 2023.
