“Really sorry,” Daniil Medvedev regrets denying Novak Djokovic his Calendar Slam
Daniil Medvedev describes how Novak Djokovic has remained kind to him irrespective of his ranking from being 480 to World No. 1.
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Daniil Medvedev recently spoke on Novak Djokovic‘s influence on him ahead of the Dubai Tennis Championships semi-final. The duo is set to meet once again after their encounter at Adelaide International. Medvedev also talked about his past experiences with the Serbian and his competitive nature in general.
Medvedev is looking forward to winning his third title of the year. The Russian has won the Rotterdam Open and Qatar Open in recent weeks. He has also maintained a 12-match winning streak so far. The semi-final in Dubai is surely set to be another great match between the two. In his interview, Medvedev mentioned the gruelling matches against the Serb.
Having a bitter rivalry with someone you genuinely love and admire can be difficult, but not for Medvedev, who freely admits he wants Djokovic to win and break records but has no issues about standing in his way too. Medvedev also stated that he likes many things about the World No.1, “I like when Novak wins Slams, if of course, he’s not playing me in one of the round…he was so kind to me since I was a kid”.
The World No. 7 appreciated Djokovic’s attitude even when he was not one of the top players. “He was always the same, no matter if I’m No. 1 in the world or No. 480 and I give him a lot of respect for this,” said Medvedev. However, he did not underestimate his own abilities. The Russian also mentioned his own 2021 US Open win against Novak.
“I didn’t let him win the calendar-year Grand Slam and I feel really sorry for him because I would, in a way, like him to do it,” stated Medvedev. The tennis star has a mixture of admiration and repentance regarding the matter. Daniil also mentioned that it doesn’t matter who his opponent is, whether his ‘best friend’ or ‘worst enemy’, his competitiveness does not waver.
Also read: Rennae Stubbs wants noise around Novak Djokovic’s vaccination status against Covid-19 to stop
Dubai Open semi-final prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Novak Djokovic
After two straight-set victories against fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz and Tallon Griekspoor, Novak Djokovic has secured his place in the final four following a tight opening match against Tomas Machac. Even more easily, Daniil Medvedev advanced to the final four after winning all three of his matches in straight sets.
The duo has played 13 matches head-to-head. Djokovic leads the tally 9-4 against Medvedev. The Serbian has a 15-0 win-loss streak in 2023, whereas, Medvedev is also on a 12-match winning streak. Nevertheless, Medvedev will wish to increase his score on the tally. But, the chances of Djokovic winning are considerably higher.
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Tanisha Mohanty
(172 Articles Published)