Novak Djokovic has also experienced something that Daniil Medvedev did at this year’s Dubai Tennis Championships.
Medvedev won the Dubai Tennis Championships for the second time in his career, which is the first time that he has won the same tournament twice.
It was also the first time that the former world number one has won a final via walkover, with Tallon Griekspoor unable to play Medvedev in the final due to injury.
This is the sixth time this has happened on the ATP Tour since 2000, with the most notable situation occurring when Roger Federer was unable to take to the court against Djokovic in the final of the ATP Finals in 2014.
Novak Djokovic admitted it was ‘awkward’ to win the ATP Finals via walkover
Djokovic and Federer were the top two seeds at the 2014 ATP Finals, and were flawless en route to the final of the tournament.
However, it was nearly very different for Federer, who had to save four match points in his semifinal against Stan Wawrinka.
While Federer was able to overcome his compatriot, he was unable to take to the court for the final due to a back injury.
After confirming his withdrawal from the ATP Finals final, Federer revealed that he suffered the back injury in the third set tie-break of his match against Wawrinka.
“Yeah, it’s a very disappointing end to the season,” Federer said in his press conference. “You know, I was playing so well here, had a great season so far. I was feeling great, you know, until yesterday’s tiebreaker. I felt all of a sudden the back was feeling funny.
“I tried to have treatment on it, medication on it, just tried to turn around as quick as possible really, but didn’t really feel that much of an improvement overnight.
“Then you don’t have a day off or anything to work with, obviously it’s not enough time to recover. The way I feel right now, there’s no way I can compete at any level really.
“So probably in a few days it’s going to be better, but right now it’s not good enough. So clearly it’s very disappointing.
“Nevertheless, congratulations to Novak. That’s how it goes. You have to put yourself in those positions. He’s done that again. Congrats on world number one, as well. He’s had a terrific season.”
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This meant that Djokovic had won his third consecutive ATP Finals title, and fourth overall at the time, but he admitted that this one felt a bit ‘awkward’ and was not the way he would have wanted to win.
“During the doubles match, that’s when I found out,” Djokovic said in his press conference after being asked when he found out Federer had pulled out.
“Well, I did my warmup, obviously prepared for the battle, prepared for a great match as it was anticipated, as the people expected it to be. It was the last match of the season I was ready to give it all. I’m sure he was ready, too, to give it all if he could.
“I spoke to him. As I understand, he retired a match maybe three times in his career in over a thousand matches. You cannot blame him. I’m sure he would play World Tour Finals if he could.
“This is probably the first time in the history that this happens. It’s a very awkward situation to talk about it, to be honest, today.
“You never like to win, especially these big matches against big rivals, with the retirement. But that’s the way it is.”
To this day, this is still the only time that the final of the ATP Finals has been decided via a walkover.
Djokovic and Federer were able to play in the final of the ATP Finals a year later, with the former once again taking the title after winning in straight sets.
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All of the finals on the ATP Tour that have been won by walkover since 2000
Since 2000, there have only been retirements in six finals on the ATP Tour after Griekspoor’s withdrawal at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
This was the first walkover in a final in nine years, with the one before then coming when Jack Sock won the Delray Beach Open after Milos Raonic withdrew.
The first final decided via walkover this century came at the 2002 Madrid Open, when Andre Agassi took home the title after Jiri Novak’s withdrawal.
| ATP tournaments where the finals have been won by walkover | Final Result |
| Madrid Open 2002 | Andre Agassi won by walkover after Jiri Novak withdrew |
| Swiss Indoors 2003 | Guillermo Coria won by walkover after David Nalbandian withdrew |
| Chile Open 2008 | Fernando Gonzalez won by walkover after Juan Monaco withdrew |
| ATP Finals 2014 | Novak Djokovic won by walkover after Roger Federer withdrew |
| Delray Beach Open 2017 | Jack Sock won by walkover after Milos Raonic withdrew |
| Dubai Tennis Championships 2026 | Daniil Medvedev won by walkover after Tallon Griekspoor withdrew |
Guillermo Coria and Fernando Gonzalez have been the two other beneficiaries of walkovers in finals during this period.
There has only ever been one walkover in a men’s Grand Slam singles final, when Frank Shields was unable to take to the court for the 1931 Wimbledon final against Sidney Wood due to an ankle injury.
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