Daniil Medvedev: "Djokovic was good for my career"
20 wins in a row - there was no getting past Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open for Daniil Medvedev . But the 25-year-old only has words of praise left for the Djoker.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 21, 2021, 02:09 pm
Almost all the experts saw Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev almost on par when it came to the question of the possible tournament winner of the Australian Open 2021. A five-movement duel? Was set for most.
It turned out differently: Djokovic once again impressively demonstrated why he is number 1 in the world - and now nine-time champion in Melbourne. First he broke Medvedev playfully, again thanks to his famous returns, in the end Medvedev was no longer in control of the situation mentally and turned to his box again and again desperately. 7: 5, 6: 2, 6: 2 it was in the end for Djokovic.
And as sad as Medvedev looked out of the laundry shortly before the award ceremony, it turned out so fine. Medvedev unpacked a story when he was allowed to train with Djokovic as a young player, was much too nervous to ask him anything - and then completely amazed that Djokovic was in a chatty mood. "He had just won Wimbledon, I was the one Number 500 or 600 in the world. I was surprised, he asked me things and talked to me like we were old friends. "
The finale to read in the ticker!
Medvedev: "Couldn't get top tennis"
At the press conference that followed, Medvedev followed up. "When we were training, he was late. That's the only bad thing I can remember. Otherwise, he was super nice. We have other common stories, for example when he took me to the Davis Cup in his private jet It was good for my career. "
At least until today. Because here Medvedev was at the end of his Latin from the middle of the second sentence. "I didn't play badly, but I didn't play my best level either." He has the feeling that Djokovic beat him in a similar way to Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas: "Maybe he played so well that I couldn't play my best tennis."
The false start? I didn't even care about himself. "I wasn't tense, but he broke me, even though I brought in all the first serves. And at the last point in the first set I served well, but he returned in full stretch, I hit the ball into the net and the set was gone."
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Medvedev doesn't want to regret anything
If he were to play in a final again, "I would do a few things differently on and off the pitch. That doesn't mean that I would win, but that's what the life of a tennis player is about," said the 25-year-old Hates to lose "whether it's in the first round or in the final of a Grand Slam." Whether he will have won 20 Grand Slam tournaments at the end of his career or not at all does not seem so important, "I just don't want to regret anything, that's what it's all about."
His self-confidence is good anyway, but ... "What they (the Big 3) have achieved in tennis is unbelievable. I'm 25. If I want to win the Australian Open nine times, I'd have to win it every year until I can I am 34. I believe in myself, but don't think that's possible. "
His main goal in 2021, Medvedev laughed, was: "Win a match in Roland Garros." In Paris, Medvedev is still without a win after four appearances.
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