“Why did I do it?” Daniil Medvedev trashes ‘labels’ as he strives to bring a better character on the court

Medvedev is set to play his sixth Grand Slam final at the 2024 Australian Open.

“Why did I do it?” Daniil Medvedev trashes ‘labels’ as he strives to bring a better character on the court

Daniil Medvedev (Via Imago)

Daniil Medvedev did the unthinkable by defeating Alexander Zverev in the semi-final of the 2024 Australian Open last night. The Russian was two sets down in the match and was two points away from being eliminated from the tournament in the third set.

From there, he made a phenomenal comeback and ended up winning the last three sets of the match to defeat his German opponent. This was hands-down one of the best comeback wins in the recent past and will be remembered for a long time to come. 

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Upon being asked if he had any special driving force this time that led him to perform so well in the Australian Open, Medvedev gave a very nuanced answer in the presser. He initially said that he wants to be a better person but corrected himself by saying that he did not like these labels. He just wants to do better with himself, both as a player and as a person.

It's tough to say, because as I said it, and I said it before the tournament, I want a change, I want to become, I don't want to say better person, because I don't like these like labels, 'better person'. Who knows what is a better person. 

Medvedev has made it to the finals of two back-to-back Grand Slam events. He faced Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2023 US Open and will now face Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2024 Australian Open. It must be noted that the Russian has only faced either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in Grand Slam finals before and this is the first time that he is the more experienced player in a Grand Slam final match. 

Daniil Medvedev is delighted on being able to keep up with his small resolutions 

The World No. 3 reiterated that his resolution to do better might have impacted his result in the Grand Slam so far but it would be naive of him to say that it was the sole reason for his success, as it doesn’t work like that. However, he is happy that he is setting small goals and is following them well. 

Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev (Image via Imago)

So could this help me win all of these matches? Possibly yes. But I also don’t want to say yes one month ago I decided this and then suddenly I’m winning all these matches. Life is not that easy. But I’m doing what I told myself to do one month ago. I’m happy about it. I’m looking forward to what’s next. 

Medvedev said

Despite losing two back-to-back finals against Jannik Sinner, the Russian still has a head-to-head advantage over the World No. 4 and will head into the final as the favorite. He would like to put his massive experience of playing in Grand Slam finals to use. 

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