"I think Daniil Medvedev will get back to No. 1 pretty rapidly, especially if Djokovic is playing a curtailed schedule" - Tim Henman

Daniil Medvedev failed to dislodge Novak Djokovic from the World No. 1 spot after falling to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Thursday. The reigning US Open champion needed to reach the semifinals to leapfrog Djokovic for the second time in as many months. But Hurkacz had other ideas as he scored a 7-6(7), 6-3 win over the top seed.

Despite the Russian's setback, Tim Henman reckons the 26-year-old will not have any trouble returning to the top spot in the future, having already achieved the feat once.

“In the context of that conversation, if Medvedev hadn’t already been No.1, then it is a big issue, but the fact he’s already been there – and yes, he’d rather be one than two – means I don’t think it’s such a big issue for Medvedev," said Henman on Amazon Prime.

Henman pointed out how Medvedev does not have too many points to defend during the clay season and can thus dislodge Djokovic from the top spot. The Serb is playing a curtailed schedule due to his unwillingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“If you look at the ranking points coming up, because he played so poorly on clay last year, I think he will get back to one pretty rapidly, especially if Djokovic is only playing a curtailed schedule,” Henman added.

When the rankings are updated on Monday, Medvedev will trail Djokovic by a mere 10 points, which he can easily make up in the coming weeks.

The Serb is defending over 3500 points during the clay swing, while Medvedev is defending less than 1000.

"After just over two hours, Daniil Medvedev was certainly feeling the pain out there" - Tim Henman on Russian's loss to Hubert Hurkacz

Hubert Hurkacz after beating Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 Miami Open

During the conversation, Tim Henman also gave his thoughts on Medvedev's performance against Hubert Hurkacz. The Brit believes the Russian struggled in the hot and humid conditions in Miami.

“It’s very hot and humid out here. The nature of the match meant it was Medvedev having to work harder on his serve and from the back of the court,” said Henman. “After just over two hours he was certainly feeling the pain out there.

Former World No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova, who was also present on the panel on Amazon Prime, gave her input on the match as well. She, too, opined that Medvedev was impacted by the weather conditions and the slow surface.

“We saw Daniil struggling here big time last year as well," Daniela Hantuchova said. "Some players deal with humidity with more difficulty than others. It’s not comfortable out there. It’s not easy and it’s been a long hard-court season already."

“This pace of court forces Daniil to be more aggressive. He can’t absorb the opponents power as much," she added. "That takes extra effort as well.”