Breaking News: Daniil Medvedev Candidly Discusses Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Sinner!
Daniil Medvedev has openly admitted that Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic surpass him in terms of “peak performance.” Despite this, the world No. 4 relishes the challenge of competing against these top rivals.
Medvedev is currently competing in the 2024 Italian Open, where he is the defending champion and a strong favorite. The 2021 US Open champion aims to win the same tournament twice for the first time in his career, having secured his 20 ATP titles at 20 different events. His last title came at the 2023 Italian Open.
In the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, the 28-year-old Russian will face 14th seed Tommy Paul, holding a 3-0 record against the American.
Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz are ranked first, second, and third, respectively, in the ATP Rankings. Sinner and Alcaraz withdrew from the Italian Open due to injury, while Djokovic suffered a surprising third-round exit to Alejandro Tabilo.
Medvedev has a losing record against Djokovic (5-10) and Alcaraz (2-4), and a 6-5 edge over Sinner, though he has lost his last five matches against the Italian.
Medvedev, a former world No. 1, acknowledged his competitors’ superior peak performances in an interview with the Roland Garros website.
“I think in every sport you can see it where you are up against someone really strong, and the moment you think maybe they become weaker, or at least you feel like it, there are new guys coming that try to beat you, and manage it to do it sometimes,” Medvedev said.
“For me, it’s a big challenge to try to beat these guys. Novak, Rafa [Nadal] is still there – I wanted to say only Novak, but no, Rafa is back, let’s see how far he can go.
“Jannik, Carlos, Novak, I feel like they are all better than me, if we talk about peak performance. So for me, it’s a big challenge to try to beat them when I play them. I’m happy to take this challenge and make a big improvement on myself when I manage to beat them.
“That’s what I believe because for example Australian Open (2024 final against Sinner) was peak of my peak. Yes, I was tired physically, this, that, and maybe I would win if I would not be tired, but this is if. The fact is I was at my peak and I didn’t win.
“It’s not an easy feeling. They play very good. I feel like they have better shots than me. But every time I come to play them, I’m thinking about how can I win this match, be better than last time, if I lost the last one. And if I won the last one, how can I still be better?
“Because they’re going to come up with something new. And honestly, I like this feeling. In a way, sometimes you prefer to play a final, maybe against someone else, where you have more chances to win.
“But it’s a great feeling to be able to overcome this, like I did once with Novak in the US Open [in 2021], and it’s a feeling that is a good one.”
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