“There is nobody close to them,” Daniil Medvedev explains why Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have continued to dominate for decades

“There is nobody close to them,” Daniil Medvedev explains why Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have continued to dominate for decades

Daniil Medvedev Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (Image via Instagram)

Russian former world No 1, Daniil Medvedev, is currently in Riyadh for the Diriyah Tennis Cup. Recently he sat down with CLAY, in the heritage city of Diriyah, for an interview where he talked about the 2022 season, his performance, and the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the sport, among other things. The most important part of the interview was when he talked about Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, how they have dominated the major part of the last two decades and why nobody is close to them.

Djokovic and Nadal are currently the remaining Big 2 of the celebrated Big 3 trio after the retirement of Swiss great Roger Federer in September. Together they have a record 43 major titles to their name, with Nadal being ahead of Djokovic just by a margin of one title. The younger generation of tennis is yet to present a formidable challenge to their dominance even when both of them are in their mid-30s.

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Daniil Medvedev vs Novak Djokovic, 2021 US Open Final

On the question of why Djokovic and Nadal remain so relevant and why younger generations had failed to unbalance them at all, the 2021 US Open singles winner said they are just stronger than the rest of them. “By saying that, I mean that all of us can beat them in some matches, yeah. Even looking my head to head with Novak. I’ve beaten him four or five times. But if you look at the history of tennis, there is nobody close to them,” he explained.

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Further explaining the feeling he gets when he faces them on the court, he said, “The thing about Djokovic and Nadal is that on their bad days, they still play great tennis, when we have a bad day, we play a little bit worse and we are capable of losing against some players maybe they would not lose”.

“That’s the biggest difference, and that has been the case since they were young. If you look through statistics their winning percentage has always been high,” Continuing the train of thought, Medvedev further added.

On the court, Daniil Medvedev will be hoping to defend his title at the Diriyah Tennis Cup.

Also read: “I did that against Novak when he was aiming for Calendar Slam,” Daniil Medvedev backs himself for Grand Slam glory in the upcoming season.

Daniil Medvedev makes a hilarious remark about his Grand Slam record ahead of Adelaide International

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev is expected to be a part of Adelaide International along with Serbian legend Novak Djokovic. Ahead of the tournament, he made a hilarious remark on social media that together they have 22 Grand Slam singles titles. “Solid 22 Grand Slams between us!”, he wrote on his Twitter.

Medvedev has had a good career so far, he even reached the No 1 ranking in February this year. Despite his performances, he has won only one Grand Slam tournament which came at the 2021 US Open. He also had to face a ban from Wimbledon this year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Daniil Medvedev must be hoping to return to his best and add a few majors to his name in the upcoming season. The ongoing Diriyah Tennis Cup and the upcoming Adelaide international before the Australian Open 2023 can act as a big boost for Medvedev’s preparations.

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