The 26-year-old Daniil Medvedev has achieved a lot in the past four years. Daniil is a Major champion, world no. 1, a Masters 1000 winner and the ATP Finals champion. Despite that, the Russian does not want to compare himself with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, placing himself far behind the legends.
Daniil had a chance to lift his second consecutive Major title in January in Melbourne, opening a massive lead against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. Still, Nadal prevailed 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 after five hours and 24 minutes, stealing the crown from Medvedev in the second most extended Major final.
The rest of the season could have been better for the Russian, failing to deliver his best tennis against the rivals from the top and winning only two titles in Los Cabos and Vienna.
Daniil Medvedev praised Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Daniil gave his best at the ATP Finals, playing three thrilling matches and losing them in the match tie break.
Medvedev served for the victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic, squandering those chances and leaving Turin with no points on his tally. Medvedev and Djokovic battled in the last round-robin match, and the Serb prevailed 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in three hours and 11 minutes!
Novak struggled physically from the second set but refused to surrender even when Daniil served for the victory at 5-4 in the decider. Refusing to surrender, Djokovic broke back at 15 in game ten to extend the drama. Novak gained a boost and won a tie break 7-2 following a forehand down the line winner.
“It was a good fight, but I have no positive notes. Novak is in a league of his own alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. One day, someone may try to match their records, but I do not put myself in that group. Novak and I have had some great battles, and I won some of those.
That’s all I can say. We are close to each other when we compete, but I’m far from him regarding achievements. I did not have much motivation before the match, and it was not easy to step in and fight. Novak was at 100%, and I accepted the challenge and wanted to have fun.
That’s what happened. I served for the victory and sucked in that game; it was a disaster. I lost two matches while serving for the win, which is awful. I will try to improve next time; there’s no other choice,” Daniil Medvedev said.
