Daniil Medvedev warned in the preview of the final that he is ready for the challenge: “It is a situation similar to the one I experienced in the last US Open against a player who was also playing for the twenty-first major“.
The Russian is referring to the fight for the title of the United States Open, last September, and that ended with his first ‘major’ after defeating Novak Djokovic by a triple 6-4.
The Serbian was struggling to complete the ‘Grand Slam’ in the same season within the Open Era, something that only the Australian Rod Laver had achieved, and to break the 20 grand slams that he shares with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic was under pressure even though the party was prepared for him. The organization longed for him to go down in history in his tournament and the stands, usually elusive with him, supported him more than ever.
gave the same Medvedev likes adverse environments because they motivate him. When it does not have them, it manufactures them, as has been the case in the current edition of the Australian Open. Nadal is the one who now dresses as Djokovic.
After winning the second round against the local Nick Kyrgios, he asked for respect from the fans, whom he called uneducated for calling him between serves. He also asked for respect for the interviewer on the track, who was none other than Jim Courier, champion in 1992 and 1993.
With the calm waters with the ‘aussies’ fans, Daniil complained that the competition management scheduled him a match on center court until the quarterfinals with Felix Auger Aliassime.
Medvedev remembers Djokovic between whistles: “I wondered what he would do to come back”
On that day, on the rush of coming back from two sets down for the second time in his professional career, he referred to Djokovic as inspiration to turn around such an adverse situation: “I wondered how he would do it.”
The Muscovite knew and knows that the Serbian is not well seen by the Australian people for refusing the vaccine to enter a country that has experienced the harshest protocols during the pandemic.
Medvedev’s harsh words to the chair umpire: “Look at me, I’m talking to you! Are you stupid?”
Medvedev runs into a Rafael Nadal this Sunday who represents the complete opposite of him. He has never broken a racket, he has never insulted a referee or a television camera and for the last four seasons he has received the Stefan Edberg award for ‘fair play’ in a vote by his teammates.
“Rafa is the perfect guy, he is amazing in this aspect of not breaking the racket. I remember him explaining that his uncle Toni forbade him since he was a child,” says Medvedev.
Rafa is a perfect boy, he is incredible in this aspect of never breaking his racket
Gilles Cervara’s pupil, at 25, lives like no one else in the face of environmental pressure. He did not walk out of the semi-final match with Stefanos Tsitsipas despite having a run-in with the chair umpire whom he called “stupid” for ignoring Apstolos Tsitsipas’s instructions to his son.
The Russian tennis player was disqualified from the challenger in Savannah (Georgia) in 2016 after accusing the chair umpire, Sandy French, of helping Donald Young for having the same skin color. “I know you’re friends with Young, I have no doubt.”
One after, at Wimbledon, he threw coins at the Portuguese Mariana Alves at the conclusion of the match she lost to the Belgian Ruben Bemelmans.
Comb the public of New York
And in the third round of the 2019 US Open, in the duel that he measured against Feliciano López, He faced the stands to the point of dedicating a comb to them and, later, thank them for the extra motivation that having them against them meant for him. Nick Kyrgios sided with him and published the snapshot of Daniil performing the comb as a profile picture on the social network twitter.
Medvedev’s trolling of the US Open public after beating Feliciano
In the last final phase of the Davis Cup, the eventual champion of the tournament remembered that Russia acted as Spain’s executioner in the group phase after hearing whistles in his match with the German Struff. Medvedev against the world II part.
