Daniil Medvedev has come down against any potential favouritism for Novak Djokovic in case the veteran Serb fails to qualify into the field for the eight-man ATP Finals next month.
Djokovic currently stands provisional 11th in the race to the November 15 shootout in Turin, with ninth palace needed to book a place in the season wrapup.
The cut-off has been extended by one place, with Jannik Sinner ending his season early as the world No. 1 struggles with a knee injury.
Djokovic, who won the China Open title in Beijing just weeks ago, will try to add to his points next week as a wildcard at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, hometown of now-retired Roger Federer.
Djokovic, with the record 24 career Grand Slam singles titles, would be a likely candidate for a wild card entry if ATP officials could craft such an unorthodox solution at the year-ender for the sentimental box office drawcard..
But Medvedev, currently sixth in the provisional standings and set to add to his point total after reaching the weekend final in Kazakhstan, is having nothing of it.
“Novak still has two tournaments to try to make it, and in Beijing he played great. I didn’t see any of his matches in Shanghai,” Medevedev told Britain’s Tennishead website.
“He has his chances. But if he’s there, everyone will be happy to see him there because also, he announced he’s going to play this year if he’s there.
“If he’s not, that’s a part of life; let’s see what next year can bring to him.”
Former world No. 1 Medvedev won the Finals in 2020 over Dominic Thiem and lost the final a year later to Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic owns a record seven titles at the elite showpiece. He skipped playing the event at the previous two editions despite qualifying into the field.
