“You can never say that he’s 35 years old,” Daniil Medvedev acknowledges the supremacy of Novak Djokovic ahead of their semifinal clash in Dubai
Ahead of their semifinal clash in the Dubai Tennis Championships, Daniil Medvedev acknowledges Novak Djokovic as the favourite citing his dominant run in the tour.
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Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev
Russian former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev set up a semifinal clash with the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Tennis Championships. On Thursday, the 27-year-old defeated Borna Coric to seal a place in the last four. Till the quarterfinals, Medvedev had an easy run but a change of routine is on the cards with Djokovic as the opponent.
The 2021 US Open champion is aware of that fact. After the match against Coric, Medvedev acknowledged the ruthless form of Djokovic in the past few months. Medvedev believes there is no margin of error against the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
“I’m playing good right now. But when you play Novak, Novak is always the favorite,” Medvedev explained. “He won probably, I don’t know, [his last] 50 matches and lost maybe four or five. So he’s huge. He’s playing great and moving great. You can never say that he’s 35 years old,”
Medvedev added that he is hoping to be on his top game to have a chance against Djokovic, “but I always had some good fights with him, so I’m hoping for my best shape tomorrow because it’s the only way to beat him.”
Novak Djokovic leads the head-to-head but Daniil Medvedev has a good run as well
The 2021 US Open champion Medvedev had the facts right about Djokovic’s performance in the last few months. Since the start of Rome last May, Djokovic has won 50 of his 53 matches. The dominant run of the Serb also includes three defeats to Medvedev. So, the Russian player has to be vigilant and agile to overturn his fortune against Djokovic.
In the head-to-head, Djokovic, unsurprisingly, leads by 9-4. But for Djokovic, Medvedev is not like other rivals. “Daniil is one of the best players in the world in the last five years. Grand Slam winner. Former No. 1 in the world. Not much to talk about,” Djokovic said earlier. “His quality is as tough as it gets when you are supposed to face someone on the hard court, particularly.”
The 35-year-old Djokovic is on a streak of 15 wins in 2023. The five-time champion in Dubai is clearly the favorite this time as well. But Medvedev will not be a pushover, as displayed in his Qatar Open win. So, there is no doubt that the clash between the two stars will definitely be a mouthwatering one.
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Abhinavendu Singh
(290 Articles Published)