By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday September 10, 2023
There were moments during Daniil Medvedev’s loss to Novak Djokovic on Sunday in Arthur Ashe Stadium, that the Russian would like to take back.
How does the saying go? Regrets, I’ve had a few…
“Oh, regrets, for sure,” Medvedev said of the 104-minute second set that ended in a dramatic tiebreak, in favor of Djokovic, and also featured a set point by Medvedev with Djokovic serving at 5-6. “Should have won it, but sometimes tennis is not that easy.”
On said set point, Djokovic served-and-volleyed and Medvedev had a look at a passing shot, which he elected to take crosscourt.
Djokovic, who was ever present at the net in the match and won 37 of 44 points at net, picked off the backhand volley for a winner and ended up taking the set in a tiebreak. “Passing for sure [I should have gone] down the line, not cross,” Medvedev said. “But I have two choices and I chose the wrong one.”
Medvedev drops to 1-4 in major finals – he has only faced Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the ultimate round at a major – and 5-10 lifetime against the Serbian.
Medvedev said he felt in control in the second set, and if he could have drawn even at a set apiece he feels the final may have turned out differently.
“In general, second set was the best set I played and I didn't win it. So that's why I would say, it's normal that the match went that way, because first and third he was kind of better and not much to say.
“Second, if I would won it, maybe could have been a different match – Pity that I didn't win the second set because I felt like I was dominating in a way.”
If there was anything Medvedev could change, it would have been his return position.
Djokovic dominated the net and won 20 of 22 serve and volley points, and Medvedev wishes he could have adapted his return position to nullify the effect of the Serbian’s steady forays to the net.
“Just should have done better,” he said. “Was a little bit stubborn on return. I probably should have changed my position and stuff like this, but I had the feeling that it's gonna work like this and I'm going to make it work.”
Medvedev, who broke once in Djokovic’s 16 service games, says he simply wasn’t good enough on return today.
“I don't really care too much if the guy is serving and volleying,” he said. “It makes it a little bit tougher but he has to do it good. Novak first of all does it good, so that's the first part.
“And then the second part is that I didn't manage to return well enough, and I don't want to say because of him. It was more of myself and I should have been less stubborn and go forward earlier in the match, because I only started doing it a little bit in the third set. But the match was a different story.”