Daniil Medvedev is in the final of the US Open 2023! In the semifinal match he put doubts aside, gave 120% and beat current world number one Carlos Alcaraz. He will then face an equally difficult test: the great Novak Djokovic. But who knows? He already beat the Serb this year and won his only slam against Novak at the US Open. In an on-court interview, Daniil spoke about the difficult win and the upcoming final.
Related Materials
Fantastic victory for Medvedev! The Russian eliminated Alcaraz and reached the final of the US Open
“I needed to play 11 out of 10. I played 12.”
– Incredible match. What does it mean to you to reach the US Open final for the third time? “It’s incredible, especially beating a tennis player like Carlos.” This year I easily lost twice against him, so before the match, of course, there were a lot of doubts. Will I be able to impose my game on him? What should I do better? But I played an incredible game and I’m very happy to be here on Sunday.
– You said you had to be better to beat Carlos. What did you do differently to achieve this victory? —I said I needed to play 11 out of 10. I played 12 out of 10, not counting the third set. There is no other way. I don’t remember if he is still 20 or already 21, but at such a young age he already has two Slams, the title of first racket in the world. This is just amazing, I don’t think anyone has done it before. So to beat him, you have to be better than yourself. And i did it.
— You were winning 2:0 in the sets, then Carlos pressed. What did you say to yourself before the fourth set? — The third set wasn’t so bad, I lost one of my serves. I didn’t have many opportunities to serve him, but I came close. I thought I had to keep pressing, it was better to play with my serve. I was able to save a couple of break points when the score was 1:1, it was an important moment. Then there was a very long game where I managed to make some incredible plays to stay in the game. And then he started not always hitting, something you rarely see in him. Amazing!
— Repetition of the final from two years ago, what is the main challenge? —The challenge is that I have to play with a man who has 23 “Helmets”. And I only have one. When I beat him here, he was able to play better than me. I need to do this again, there is no other way.
— Tell us about the fans?— Today’s stands were incredible. I’m serious. We had some crazy plays and I felt love for both players. Only 1,000 Spaniards, with the score 5:3, began to shout between the first and second serves. Not very kindly, but they were desperate. I’m glad I didn’t help you, now you can go to bed.
Related Materials
“Medvedev awakened sobriety among the New York public.” Violent reaction to Daniel’s victory over Alcaraz
“The mood for the final is to go to war, fight to the end, win”
At the press conference, Daniil told how he was able to face Alcaraz, how he would prepare for the final and how he was distracted by the star spectators in the stands.
– Epic victory. You said you had to play better, how did you do it? – Managed. I played very well in all four sets, but in the third… I said I had to play 11 out of 10, and in the three sets I won I did. In the third set I played 9 and a half, maybe 10 out of 10. And, as we saw, against Carlos it wasn’t enough.
I managed to play well, serve well, reach the lines at important moments. I am very happy, but the tournament is not over.
– A repeat of the 2021 final is looming. – Yes, it will be the same against Novak. It’s always better than the previous game. For example, I beat him in the US Open final and he beat me at Bercy. Carlos beat him at Wimbledon, he beat him in Cincinnati.
Novak will be the best version of himself on Sunday and I need to be the best version of myself if I want to beat him.
— At the end the stands were very noisy, how did you keep your concentration? The ending was very tense. “I don’t even know what I did in the end.” I don’t want to serve when they make noise. The noise means that either the stands want the opponent to win or it’s just a great moment. I don’t like hitting the ball 15 times, it takes me out of rhythm. If I hit the ball three times and feel the noise go away, I serve. Maybe that’s why I served faster, or maybe because I was a little nervous.
Yes, I double faulted, but I also made some good serves even under that pressure, so I think I handled it well. The main thing is victory. You can always say that he should have made an ace on the first match point, but what difference does it make? The main thing is that I got a match point and I am very happy.
—How would you evaluate your performance in defense? You probably haven’t run that far in a long time. – Fabulous. Even in the losing rallies, there were times when I managed to catch very difficult balls and I thought: okay, this is good. This means that in the next draw I will be able to do this too. Maybe he won’t hit or I can hit him better. He was on a roll.
And when I’m on a roll, I’m excellent at defending. I run well, although there were times when it seemed like I could run faster, because sometimes you look at what your opponent is doing. But against Carlos it’s dangerous because he plays so fast, he takes shortcuts so fast you don’t have time to watch. I grew slower every time he looked. And I thought: next time I have to be better. And i did it.
– It’s not the first time you’ve played a Grand Slam final. Do you have a special routine for the day before the final? – No. I will train at the same time as always. But not because of superstitions, but because it is a convenient time to sleep more and have time at night. So I’ll do everything as usual. It’s a matter of mental preparation, you want to go to war, fight to the end, win. This is the attitude you must have in a Grand Slam final.
Daniil Medvedev
Photo: Tim Clayton/Getty Images
“I looked: who is in the stands? “I think I saw all the stars.”
—How important was it to win against Alcaraz now, taking into account that in the two previous matches you didn’t take a single set away from him? – Very important for confidence and self-esteem. But the thing about tennis is that I won this match, which is great, but if I lose on Sunday I will be very angry, although in theory it will still be a good tournament.
So yeah, a big win that will boost my confidence. I hope to have many more years of my career ahead of me. And every time he gives you confidence you know that you can play like that in the most important games. You know you can do it again. And you want to do it again. Do you want to experience this feeling again? It is important to take advantage of this, but at the same time forget about it and look for the next victory.
— Will the 2021 final against Novak be useful for your mental preparation? And how will it affect you in this ending? “The only thing that can be useful is knowing that Novak is never the same after a defeat. He is not like that, he has a different mentality. That’s why he has 23 “Slams” and everything else: “Masters”, “thousands”, weeks in the first racket ranking. I will need to understand that he will be 10 times better than he was then. And I need to be 10 times better than then if I want to beat him. I’ll try to do this.
— Carlos highly praised your forehand. What can you say about him? — I don’t know why, but in the US Open I usually play more aggressively, faster and I serve well. Court speed probably helps. In Indian Wells, for example, it’s great to have even made it to the final, because there I could hardly hit the ball. This has nothing to do with the forehand. I beat good tennis players there, but as soon as I got to Carlos and his style of play, it was all over for me.
I would say that in Miami I could do the same as today. I had a plan, but the same plan was at Wimbledon or Indian Wells, it’s just harder to implement on some courts. The grass is completely different; On grass it is more difficult to hit with a forehand. So I’m glad I was able to get inside his head.
Related Materials
Basketball star Kevin Durant attended the match between Medvedev and Alcaraz
— Carlos said that you played very well at the reception. What can you say about this and how they managed the stands, where there were a lot of stars like Tom Brady or Kevin Durant? — In fact, they constantly showed different stars. I wanted to stay focused, but at the same time I looked: who is there? It seems like I saw everyone, sure enough, there were big stars there. It’s great that people like tennis, because it’s my favorite sport. It’s good that the game was enjoyable for the people I watch on TV, the people I’m a fan of, the people I see in the movies.
As for Carlos, I’m happy because in Indian Wells and Wimbledon he coped well with my technique from deep. But in my opinion, not only did I lose because of that, but I thought I could still cause him problems by playing deep. Today I proved it. It’s good to know that I can play like this and win even against one of the best in shorthand and net serve.
Related Materials
Tenth final in New York! Djokovic put the finishing touch to the main sensation of the US Open and imitated him at the end
“I don’t care if it’s the first or the second. “It’s still Djokovic.”
– In the sixth game of the fourth set, he was “even” seven times. Carlos started the stands, they went crazy, then you yourself showed your gesture. You showed this in spirit, what do you think? Or calmed your nerves? — It was an absolutely incredible game. I had six game points and was able to convert my second break point. And more and more, I told myself that I could last this game. And he hit amazing balls. We both got the stands going because the banter was amazing.
When I won the game, I thought: come on, try to finish this match. And i did it. The stands were incredible, the energy was special. But in the last game, 1,000 Spaniards began to shout between the first and second serves. It’s not very nice, but what can you do? If, after withdrawing from my career, I arrive at a match and someone yells like that, I will point out those people as if they should be kicked out of the tournament. I won’t even watch the game, I’ll just show it: it’s them, kick them out (laughs)! Well, on the pitch you have to stay focused and try to win.
—The main memory of the final – 2021? — Last serve, because I had two or three double faults on match points, important rallies. Double fault at 40:15, the score becomes 40:30. I need to serve and play the rally. I serve, it seems to me that the job is done, he is far from the ball, but somehow he reaches it and almost hits it. Oh my God, I didn’t hit it. This is the main memory.
—What was the key to your speech today? – She worked well. You need to serve well against Carlos, there is no other option. If she doesn’t give you a break in your service, then she doesn’t give you a break in general. I had good serves, hit the right points. Second serves were good, you need luck because it’s a risk and you’re lucky if it’s worth it. Today was great, Sunday has to be the same.
– Here’s a crazy stat: when Novak is the first racket, you play better against him. Does this give you extra motivation? Now it turns out that it is a gray area, because only on Monday will he become the first. —Curious statistics, because it is not yet the first racket. But if you joke about this topic, I’ll think: you know what? On Monday it will become the first racket, so it’s like I’m playing with the first racket. I don’t know why the statistics are like that, I don’t think it’s about what happens in the games. On Sunday I won’t care if it’s first or second. It’s still Novak Djokovic and I want to win.
