Last Updated on December 24, 2021
Daniil Medvedev has certainly been one of the protagonists of tennis 2021. The Russian started the season by winning the ATP Cup; a competition in which he won all the four singles matches played.
Medvedev then reached the final of the Australian Open expressing very high-quality tennis. In the last act of the tournament, however, he found one of the best versions of Novak Djokovic, who won with a resounding 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
In an interview with Sport-Express, Medvedev spoke about his impressions of negative interactions with fans during his matches.
“Believe me, I’m still much more pleasant when I’m supported and not booed. And that’s the way it is at most tournaments. Yes, there are times when I act ugly, but I’m always myself.
People see that I don’t want to deceive anyone, to make something up, to cheat. There’s no fake in me. Tennis fans know: if they see me, they get the truth. That’s the most important thing.
If we’re talking about tournament organizers – if they have to write me a fine, they do it. Nothing else is within their competence in these matters”,- said Medvedev
The current number two in the world, after having brought home the ATP 250 tournament in Marseille, did not shine during the season on clay but still made it to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros; to beat him was Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In Mallorca, Russian tennis player Medvedev won his first event on grass before falling in the round of 16 at Wimbledon against Hubert Hurkacz.
The retirement of the Big Three
It was once again the American summer that consecrated the Russian, who started with a victory at the Toronto Masters 1000.
The biggest thrill of his career, however, came at the US Open, when he prevented Djokovic from completing the Grand Slam and finally conquered his first Major. To end on a high note, the 25-year-old also brought home the Davis Cup with his Russia team, beating Marin Cilic’s Croatia in the final.
Daniil Medvedev assessed how the Big Three’s career-ending would affect tennis.
“The retirement of the Big Three, when it happens, will be a big event. They’re not getting any younger, but they’re still playing very strongly, winning Grand Slam tournaments. But I think history is cyclical.
When Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl were graduating, everyone was also worried about the future of tennis. But they were replaced by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. So there were always new great champions coming in, and tennis was getting more and more popular.
Of course Roger, Novak and Rafa have broken every record imaginable and unimaginable, but I’m sure that after they leave, there will be new heroes who will make people fall in love with tennis”,- said Daniil.
Testifying to Medvedev’s great growth was his win/loss ratio, which reached 82.9% with a balance of 63 wins out of 76 matches. Despite these impressive numbers, Medvedev is still far from Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard managed to end 2018 with 91.8% match wins; while the Swiss and Serbian recorded 91.5% and 89.1% respectively during their best seasons.
In 2022, Medvedev will restart right from the.ATP Cup. After the team competition devised by the ATP, the world number two will directly play the Australian Open, where he will try to win his second Slam.
