Does Medvedev Miss Having Djokovic & Nadal On His Half? Not Quite!
One of the glaring takeaways from this year’s Roland Garros draw was that World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were on the same half. Daniil Medvedev, who is on the opposite half and reached the quarter-finals on Sunday, does not mind how that worked out.
“Novak and Rafa, they proved so many times that they are such great champions, especially in Grand Slams, that of course the further [along in the tournament] you encounter them, the better,” Medvedev said. “Having them on the other part of the draw, I think me, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Alexander] Zverev, we are all happy in a way because we know we can make [the] final without seeing them. Then [we can] get the chance to beat them in the final, which is the best chance possible.
“Especially talking about Rafa, he [has] won 13 times here. He barely loses a set. The further you meet him, the better. Maybe somebody can try to beat him before.”
Medvedev has only lost one set through four matches, and that came in the second round against American Tommy Paul. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion arrived in France with an 0-4 record at the clay-court major, but now he is just three victories from lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Could a love affair between Medvedev and Roland Garros be budding?
“Hopefully. I can never know the future, but I hope so. I hope that I can come many years in a row here, make great results, maybe win it one day,” Medvedev said. “That's definitely a better feeling than losing the first round, going home on Tuesday like I think two or three times I lost here Sunday. It's not a good feeling. I hope it's going to be better with every year.”
The 25-year-old has said from the start of the tournament how comfortable he is with the tennis ball being used in this event. The Russian expanded on what has been going well on Sunday.
“I learned that [at] Roland Garros, I need to play like on hard courts because it’s bouncing low and fast. I don't know if it was like this before and I was just unlucky with the draw. Also, I like the balls,” Medvedev said. “I can move really well on clay. For this I need to have good shots. If you don't have good shots, good players on clay, they start to move you all around the court and you have no chance to get back into the point. That's what was happening in many tournaments many times.
“Here I’m able with these balls, with these conditions, to make shots that [are] not going to let my opponent attack me straightaway. Then I can take control of the game and be a great mover on clay. That's one part that I've learned.”
Medvedev will play 2020 Paris semi-finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight. The Russian leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 6-1.
“Playing Stefanos in [the] quarters, by the results this year on clay, he's definitely in top three, top four, together with Sascha, Novak, and Rafa on clay,” Medvedev said. “I'm really looking forward to this match and what I can propose him.”