Rafael Nadal injury: Daniil Medvedev has Rotterdam Open shot to end Novak Djokovic duopoly
Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the Rotterdam Open gifts Daniil Medvedev a chance to overtake him in the ATP rankings and break up the long-standing duopoly of Novak Djokovic and Nadal. The Spaniard is currently hampered by a back injury that affected him at this month’s Australian Open and will not play in next month’s tournament.
At the Australian Open, Nadal lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, the Greek then going down to Medvedev in the semis.
Djokovic however dispatched of the Russian in straights sets in the final to claim his ninth Melbourne title in far more routine fashion than was expected at the Rod Laver Arena.
The Serbian kept his full 2,000 points as a result of defending his title and is 2,180 clear of Nadal in the ATP rankings.
Now an 18-time Grand Slam winner, Djokovic ended 2020 as No 1, topping the standings at the end of a calendar year for the sixth time in his career, with Nadal coming second.
