Throughout the last two decades, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have dominated professional men's tennis at a historic level. Now, another player is joining that exclusive group. Daniil Medvedev earned a career-best No. 2 spot in the ATP rankings when they were released on Monday. That makes Medvedev the first man other than Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, or Andy Murray to hold either of the top two spots in the rankings since 2005, according to the Associated Press.
The most recent man outside of those "Big 4" to appear at No. 1 or No. 2 in the rankings was Lleyton Hewitt, who in July 2005 was ranked behind only Federer.
It has taken over 15 years, but now Medvedev has made history by approaching the very top of the ATP rankings. The Russian tennis star was previously No. 3 in the ATP rankings until he won the Open 13 tournament in France on Sunday, which marked his 10th career title. Medvedev has still never won a Grand Slam, but has reached the finals of them twice. He lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open final in February and fell to Nadal in the 2019 US Open final.
Following Hewitt's No. 2 ranking back in 2005, the second spot was held by Nadal for 368 weeks, Federer for 203 weeks, Djokovic for 144 weeks and Murray for 41 weeks.
Djokovic continues to hold a firm grasp on the top spot, as he's enjoying his record 312th week at No. 1.
