By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday August 25, 2023
Daniil Medvedev is like all of us when it comes to the budding Djokovic v Alcaraz rivalry: he can’t help but be captivated.
Today at US Open media day the 2021 US Open champion told reporters a story about this year’s Wimbledon final, one that he didn’t initially plan to watch.
“I usually say I don't watch matches when I lose a tournament,” Medvedev said. “So during Wimbledon, I didn't watch it, but I follow the live score. It's easy on the phone. At one moment I saw they had a 30-minute game. I was like, ‘Okay, I'm going to watch it. I turned it on. It was amazing to watch.’”
Medvedev said he was surprised by how both players responded to adversity during the five-set affair.
“It was amazing to watch because Novak was kind of down in the beginning of the fourth set. I was surprised he managed to win it with the way the match was going,” he said. “Then at the same time I was surprised how Carlos managed to turn it back.
“That's why at the moment they are No. 1 and 2 in the world. You cannot argue with that because they are able, even when they play against each other, to turn this match around so many times.”
Medvedev said he also watched the pair square off in the Cincinnati final.
“Amazing level,” he said. “It was not easy to play in Cincinnati. The balls are tough to control. They don't care about this. They still play their best. All this championship points saved, we go to the tiebreak. Was amazing to see.”
The No.3 seed, who is slated to face Alcaraz in the semifinals if the seeds hold, says he plans to do whatever he can to avoid having to watch them again in two weeks’ time.
“Great rivalry so far,” he said of the top two seeds. “But yeah, now every tournament, a goal for everyone is to try to stop them from playing each other.”
Medvedev, 23-5 lifetime at the Open, will open accounts in New York with a first-round clash against Hungary’s Attila Balazs.