'Novak Djokovic is allowed to stay in the draw', says former No.1

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Daniil Medvedev has a chance to regain No. 1 in the ATP Rankings and dethrone Novak Djokovic at the conclusion of the Miami Open presented by Itau. If Gilles Cervara's pupil manages to reach at least the semifinals in the second ATP Masters 1000 of the season, he would begin his second journey at the top of men's tennis on April 4. On February 28, Medvedev became the 27th player to reach World No. 1 since the creation of the ATP Rankings in 1973. If Medvedev loses before the semi-finals, Djokovic will continue as No. 1 world. The Serbian recovered the first position this Monday after the dispute of the BNP Paribas Open, where Medvedev was defeated in the third round by Gael Monfils. Djokovic (8,465 points) currently holds a 55-point lead over Medvedev (8,410). On April 4, Djokovic will lose his Miami 2019 points (45) and Medvedev will see his Miami 2021 points drop (180), giving the Serb a provisional 190-point lead. However, since Djokovic is not competing in Miami, the battle for No. 1 remains in the hands of Medvedev. The champion of four ATP Masters 1000 titles will try to win his first crown of the season in Florida. The Miami tournament (ATP Miami) previously has a qualification phase where the tennis players with the lowest ranking face each other to get into the official tournament against the rest of the contenders. To do this, they must collect as many points as possible. During this part of the competition, specifically, a total of 132 tennis players participate.

Jim Courier speaks about Djokovic

Jim Courier weighed in on Novak Djokovic's controversial last-minute withdrawal from the 2022 Indian Wells Masters in a recent interview. Courier admitted that the World No. 1 could have used the good publicity from announcing his decision sooner. "Novak Djokovic has been consistent in his approach. He is not going to get vaccinated, that is clear. He is going to use the rules that are available [and try to play as much as possible]. He is allowed to stay in the draw," Courier said. "I would have chosen, if I were him, to withdraw prior to the qualification rounds starting. I think he could have used the good publicity, but he is within his rights [to wait until the last-minute to withdraw]. I think, in his heart of hearts, he was hoping there would be a change in policy and that he would be allowed to compete [in the Indian Wells Masters]," Courier said. "He wanted to give himself the best chance to try and compete."

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