“I didn’t know what to feel,” Daniil Medvedev turns nostalgic as he talks about his first Grand Slam final against Rafael Nadal

Medvedev played his first ever Grand Slam final in the 2019 US Open against Rafael Nadal.

“I didn’t know what to feel,” Daniil Medvedev turns nostalgic as he talks about his first Grand Slam final against Rafael Nadal

Daniil Medvedev (L), Rafael Nadal (R) (Sources: X/IT)

Daniil Medvedev will be facing Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2024 Australian Open on Sunday. It is set to be Medvedev’s sixth Grand Slam final and the Russian hopes to put his immense experience to use as he faces the youngster, who will be playing the first Grand Slam final of his career.

While talking about the upcoming match, Medvedev was asked in the presser whether he remembered the first Grand Slam of his career, and the Russian responded that he did so vividly. 

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Medvedev played his first-ever Grand Slam final against Rafael Nadal in the 2019 US Open. He lost the first two sets of the match, 5-7, 3-6 pretty easily. The Russian narrated the incident to explain how well he remembered the match and said that his inexperience was visible in the way he played. 

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Oh, yeah, actually my first final was crazy, because at the time I didn't know my tennis as well as I know it now, so it was just the beginning of when I started to be a top player. I just went top 10 like for the first time probably month after Wimbledon before the US Open, playing against Rafa. So I kind of, in a way, I didn't know how to feel.
Medvedev said

The World No. 3 has only played against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in all of his six Grand Slam finals so far. He will be facing a youngster for a change this time and it might be highly advantageous for him. 

Daniil Medvedev talks about his insane comeback against Rafael Nadal in the 2019 US Open final

Talking about his match against Nadal, the Russian said that he felt really bad in one of the games when he could do nothing. And then came his crazy comeback. Medvedev won the next two sets to shock the world. Although he ended up losing the match, it was a pretty good Grand Slam final debut. 

Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev (Image Credit: TennisBuzz.com)
I didn't know what to feel, how do I play, how do I fight? The first two sets, they were pretty tight because there was only one break, but in the game I felt like I could do nothing. I felt so bad. Then crazy comeback, unfortunately couldn't win it, but crazy story. That's when I even believed in myself even more that I can do it. 

Daniil Medvedev added that although he can not predict how Jannik Sinner will be, he knows that he has experience on his side, which will definitely help him in the final against the Italian. It must be noted though that Sinner has defeated Medvedev in two back-to-back finals, i.e., in the China Open and the Vienna Open. 

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