Daniil Medvedev will return to World No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday following his title at the Miami Open presented by Itau. It continues a big surge for the 27-year-old, who was outside the Top 10 as recently as the week of 13 February.
But after winning titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami in addition to reaching the final in Indian Wells, the former World No. 1 is in position to make a charge for the top of the sport during the clay-court season.
In 2022, Medvedev underwent a procedure to fix a small hernia following Miami. That kept him out for most of the clay season, during which he only earned 180 points (all at Roland Garros). That means Medvedev, despite his past comments about the surface, has a lot to gain on clay.
Medvedev trails World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas by just 620 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. However, the Greek is defending 2,230 points during the clay-court season, 2,050 more than Medvedev.
Heading into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins on 9 April, Medvedev will have a chance to challenge for World No. 3. Tsitsipas will be defending 1,000 points while Medvedev has no points to defend because he did not compete in the tournament last year because of his injury.
As the world’s best transition to clay, Carlos Alcaraz will only be 1,630 points ahead of Medvedev in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, and he is defending 1,870 points during the swing. Novak Djokovic returns to World No. 1 on Monday and will start the clay swing 2,010 points ahead of Medvedev.
Jannik Sinner, who reached his second Miami final, will also be in good position to make a move in the coming weeks. The Italian will return to the Top 10 at World No. 9 (tied for his career-high) on Monday and he is only defending 630 points on clay. As recently as February, he was ranked as low as World No. 17.
Sinner reached two ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on clay last year (in Monte Carlo and Rome), but never advanced further. One big run can send him to a new career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking.