Wait-and-see approach for Medvedev

INDIAN WELLS (California) • Daniil Medvedev's reign as the No. 1 men's tennis player will not last long - at least, not this time.

The Russian took over the top spot for the first time in his career last month from Novak Djokovic, but his third-round 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Gael Monfils at Indian Wells on Monday will allow the Serb to reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner will regain his perch, even though he was unable to travel to the United States because of the Covid-19 vaccination requirement for non-American visitors.

Medvedev, who unlike Djokovic is fully vaccinated , did make the journey to the Californian desert, although some of his peers believe he also should not have been allowed to compete here because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian athletes have been banned from most international team competitions and some individual events, including World Cup competitions in biathlon and skiing and the recently concluded Beijing Winter Paralympics.

Tennis' governing bodies have decided to preserve players' right to compete individually as neutrals, while banning Russia and Belarus, its ally, from team events like the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.

Medvedev is grateful to keep his job, but all too aware that these are fluid, deeply sensitive circumstances.

"First of all, it's definitely not for me to decide," the US Open champion said. "I follow the rules. I cannot do anything else. Right now, the rule is that we can play under our neutral flag."

But the war certainly changes the optics of matches like Monday's. Frenchman Monfils recently married Elina Svitolina - Ukraine's biggest tennis star and the world No. 18 - who watched her husband win as the Ukrainian flag flew atop the stadium here.

The blue-and-yellow flag was installed alongside the American flag in a show of support. Monfils said that it had been difficult to see the distress of his Ukrainian in-laws.

"It's not easy to see my wife a couple weeks ago crying every night," he added. "Quite a lot of family still there. It's tough to describe because I'm in it. And it's just kind of crazy when you think about it, but we try to manage it the best way we can."

Medvedev's short stint at No. 1 has also not been business as usual. Reaching the top spot in the rankings is one of tennis' ultimate achievements, and Medvedev was the first man outside the "Big Four" of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to reign since early 2004.

Yet there was no media tour, no series of promotional events and interviews for the 26-year-old.

While both the men's ATP and women's WTA tours have reiterated their support for the current approach, the Russian knows there are no guarantees as long as war rages on.

"Let's see how the situation evolves," he said of permitting Russian athletes to compete.

NYTIMES