‘To me you’re the greatest player of history,’ Daniil Medvedev lauds Novak Djokovic after his US Open triumph
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Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic was looking to create history at the 2021 US Open when he stepped into the Arthur Ashe stadium for the final against Daniil Medvedev. He was 27-0 in majors this season and was looking to become the first man since Rod Laver to complete the calendar slam. He was also looking to take the all-time grand slam lead by winning his 21st major.
But Medvedev had different plans. He outplayed Djokovic in the final and won in straight sets 6-4,6-4,6-4 to win his maiden grand slam and deny Djokovic of history. The Serbian legend was visibly emotional during and after the match, seeing the love of the New York crowd.
But Medvedev took no time in addressing Djokovic and said that for him, he is the greatest player in tennis history. “ I’m sorry for you fans and for you Novak, we knew what you could accomplish,” Medvedev said.
“When you see that you did it during your career … I can say it now, but to me you’re the greatest player of history . I know it can be a little disrespectful to other guys. But I think so”.
‘I’m going to definitely celebrate the next few days’: Medvedev
Later in the evening, Medvedev revealed his mindset of giving his best at every opportunity he gets. “You never know if you’re going to achieve it in your career. Again I was always saying, ‘If I don’t, I just want to know that I did my best to do it’,” Medvedev said.
“That’s my first Grand Slam. I don’t know how I’m going to feel if I win a second one or third one. That’s my first one, so I’m really happy. It means a lot to me… After winning in Canada, I knew I had Cincinnati next to try to prepare well for US Open, so I couldn’t even celebrate in a way. I needed to get on the plane and get ready for my first round.”
At the end, Medvedev said that he hasn’t had much time to celebrate and he’s going to celebrate his win for the next few days. “Here I know I don’t have anything coming soon… so I know how to celebrate. Russians know how to celebrate (smiling). Hopefully I will not get in the news. If I [do], it’s going to be in a good way. But I’m going to definitely celebrate the next few days.”
Also read: ‘I honestly think it’s almost impossible,’ Daniil Medvedev on achieving the No.1 ranking this season
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)