Daniil Medvedev has vowed to give Novak Djokovic a hard time – despite putting the Serbian on a pedestal above Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Medvedev claims it is clear who is the greatest player of all time, with Djokovic winning more Grand Slam titles (23) than any other male player ever.
However, the Russian feels that his game matches up best to Djokovic and he is looking to stop his rival from winning the US Open title over the next fortnight. The last time Djokovic competed at Flushing Meadows he lost to Medvedev in straight sets in the 2021 final.
Due to Covid restrictions, Djokovic was banned from entering the United States so he has not played in New York since. And Medvedev is confident that he will be able to get one over the 36-year-old should they cross paths again.
“Two years ago I managed to play definitely one of, if not the best, match of my life. I want to try to do it again. He’s other part of the draw, so let’s see,” Medvedev explained.
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“Him being back is great. I always said I want him to play every tournament, especially even if at the moment he seems super young, there’s going to be one moment, we don’t know when, 45 years old, 40 years old, he’s going to stop. I think that’s the reality. I don’t think he’s going to go more than 45 years old or something.
“So before he stops, it’s great to see him play in every tournament. Out of let’s say out of the big three, I played Roger, I was not the same as I am right now, my game matches Novak’s the best. He’s still probably the greatest of all time. It’s great that I can give him hard time.”
Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are the two favourites to win the US Open title but Medvedev is hoping to be a disrupter.
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“I think that’s normal we talk about them. I do think we still talk about me,” Medvedev said. “I’m not feeling too bad, but I’m going to try. The goal is after this US Open, that we talk about me, so I’m going to try to do it. I just try to win. That’s the most important. But unconsciously, I feel like many times I was playing good in this role. Hopefully it can help me these two weeks.
“I think it’s great for tennis that we have these two guys playing against each other right now. As I say, it’s a great story, but then the tournament starts and hopefully we can — when I say ‘we’ [I mean] me personally or someone else — we’re going to try to beat them and stop them from playing each other.”
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