NEW YORK (Reuters) – Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed the budding rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic like everyone else, but said he hopes to crash their party at the U.S. Open and play the role of disruptor this fortnight.
World number one Alcaraz, the defending champion in New York, and second-ranked Djokovic, a 23-times major winner, have won the last five Grand Slams and created huge expectations for a possible U.S. Open showdown in the final.
“I think it’s great for tennis that we have these two guys playing against each other right now,” Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, told reporters on Friday.
“It’s a great story, but then the tournament starts and hopefully we can – when I say ‘we,’ I mean me personally or someone else – we’re going to try to beat them and stop them from playing each other.
“Consciously, I don’t think about it. I just try to win. That’s the most important (thing). But unconsciously, I feel like many times I was playing good in this role. Hopefully it can help me this week, these two weeks.”
Medvedev, 27, has won five titles this year with triumphs in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Rome. The Russian world number three reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last month, losing to eventual champion Alcaraz.
“I think that’s normal we talk about them,” added Medvedev, who beat Djokovic in the final to win the U.S. Open title two years ago.
“I do think we still talk about me. I’m not feeling too bad, but I’m going to try. The goal is, after this U.S. Open, that we talk about me, so I’m going to try to do it.
“Two years ago, I managed to play definitely one of, if not the best, match of my life. I want to try to do it again.”
Medvedev will begin his campaign against Hungary’s Attila Balazs on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Hyderabad; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
