Novak Djokovic to lose No. 1 ranking after shocking upset in Dubai

Novak Djokovic lost any chance of defending his Australian Open title, and now he's about to his lose No. 1 ATP ranking.

The Serbian was shocked by the Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely, ranked No. 123 in the world, on Thursday in the semifinal of the Dubai Open. The loss guarantees that the No. 2-ranked Daniil Medvedev will have more points than Djokovic in the next ATP rankings, ending his reign.

The Dubai Open had been Djokovic's first since his Australian Open debacle, in which he was deported from Australia over his lack of vaccination. Meanwhile, Medvedev is currently competing in the Mexican Open, where he advanced to the semifinal on Thursday.

Djokovic took the demotion in good spirits, applauding Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion and 2022 Australian Open runner-up, as "very deserving" on Twitter after congratulating Vesely.

Obviously, a rather large factor in Djokovic's slide down the rankings was going from 2,000 points held thanks to his 2021 Australian Open win to zero points in 2022. Medvedev currently has 8,435 points, a few hundred more than Djokovic will have soon.

Djokovic could fall even further should he miss the French Open or Wimbledon, the two other Grand Slams he won in 2021. The Serbian remains unvaccinated and says he is willing to miss both tournaments if they required COVID-19 vaccination.

Tennis history about to be made

Djokovic's current reign as No. 1 extended back to Feb. 3, 2020, and his 361 weeks total atop the ranking are the most for any man since the rankings began.

Medvedev will be the 27th man to hold the title of No. 1, per ESPN, but what is more notable is he will be the first man not named Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray to top the rankings since 2004, when Andy Roddick ceded the spot to Federer.