“I would love to play him in a final at Rod Laver,” says Daniil Medvedev when asked about Novak Djokovic’s absence at the Australian Open
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Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev
After Novak Djokovic’s deportation, Daniil Medvedev was declared to be the favorite to win the Australian Open 2022. The world No.2 became the No.1 seed at the Australian Open in the absence of Djokovic.
The two players went against each other in the finals of the Australian Open last year and Djokovic was the only player who managed to stop Medvedev from his winning streak in the finals. However, this time Medvedev won’t need to face Djokovic by the courtesy of the Australian Government.
However, when Medvedev was asked about his thoughts on Djokovic’s absence at the Australian Open this year, he said, “I would love to play him in a final at Rod Laver“.
Daniil Medvedev talks about the Novak Djokovic Challenge at Rod Laver
Daniil Medvedev had a great run at the Australian Open last year but faced his only defeat in the finals from the hands of Novak Djokovic. The Serb won his 9th Australian Open title at the Rod Laver Arena.
However, Djokovic was stolen the chance to defend his title and win it for the 10th time by the Australian authorities who decided to deport the world No.1 because of his vaccination status.
Medvedev on the other hand is vaccinated and played his first-round match against the Swiss Henri Laaksonen. He won his first-round match comfortably in straight sets (6-1, 6-4, 7-6(3)).
In the post-match press conference, Medvedev was asked about his feelings that the only player who managed to beat him at the Australian Open last year won’t be playing this year. To this, he replied by saying, “The Rod Laver Arena is probably his (Djokovic’s) favorite place in the world. The amount of matches, the amount of finals and semifinals he has won here is sensational, But [his absence] does not change my approach though, because it’s still seven tough matches to win.”
Medvedev also talked about the challenge that Djokovic is for him and his win over Djokovic at the US Open. He said, “If we talk about US Open where I managed to beat him in the final, it was the same. You know, I had six tough matches against tough opponents to get in the final. Then I had Novak himself to beat who was going for something special,” he said. “No matter how I do [at the Australian Open] or how far I go, if I’m in the final, it’s not gonna be easy. You need to show your best to win a Slam.”
Medvedev will be facing Nick Kyrgios in the Second-Round match who will be a challenge for the Russian. Kyrgios will be in front of his home crowd and will be using all the tricks in his bag to suck out a win against the World No.2.
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Parth Dubey
(314 Articles Published)