After his defeat in the US Open final, Daniil Medvedev told how the game went and where he could have played better. And about the regrets that cannot be avoided when he loses the final against Novak Djokovic.
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“A dribbler along the line, not a cross. “There were two options, I chose the wrong one.”
— Do you regret the second set? – There are definitely regrets. I should have won. I should have, but sometimes tennis isn’t that easy. Dribble along the line, do not cross. I had two options and I chose the wrong one.
The second set was my best game and I didn’t win it. That is why it is normal that the match turned out like this, because in the first and third sets it was better, there is not much to say. If he had won the second, it could have been a different match.
I don’t know if I’ll analyze it. The next time we meet, it will be a completely different story. I’m not even sure anything can be analyzed here. That’s life, that’s tennis. Next time I will try to be better.
—What did you think in the second set, when he was breathing heavily and wobbled? That they already slammed the door, that they hit him in the jaw, that he’s already weak, or that he’s Novak Djokovic, we’ve already been through this and it doesn’t mean anything? – Both, because I was tired. He missed the end of long rallies. But at the same time, this is Novak. No matter what happens, he will be there. The same thing happened with Rublev, we could barely stand and then we made incredible jokes.
It’s a pity that I didn’t win the second set, because I didn’t give him a break, somehow I dominated. I should have played better. I was a bit stubborn on the serve. I had to change positions, but I had the feeling that it would be that way, because in the reception I played worse than with Carlos. After the set I realized that he was too stubborn and that he should have played differently. But this is tennis. The same goes for the reverse. Backhand, not diagonally along the line, the set is dead. Sometimes it’s difficult.
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—With Rublev it cost you a lot of strength, with Carlos the conditions were difficult. How physically prepared were you for this match? – It’s difficult to say, because starting with De Minaur, after the match with Báez, which cost me a lot, I didn’t feel 100% physically, but I still played incredible and won. At Grand Slams you won’t always feel 100%, but you can still win.
He also found it difficult in the second set. He had a little pain that got worse as the game went on, but it didn’t matter. That’s not why I lost.
Physically I would like to feel better in this match, but when Carlos is in the semifinals you know that physically it will not be easy. There is no other way, you still want to win. I just needed to improve physically, mentally and in my game.
– Do you compare your level today with Carlos’s? — I played worse, especially in the first set. It’s hard to say in the third, maybe it was a result of the second set, the way the game developed. I played the second set like I did with Carlos, that’s why we had so much fight in points and games. If I wanted to win the match, I had to win the set.
It’s not easy to repeat this because I had one of the best matches of my life against Carlos. The same can be said of the match against Novak two years ago. It is not easy to repeat this day after day. I tried and improved my level in the second set, but it wasn’t enough.
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—Was the key for Djokovic his serve to the net? – Yeah.
– You earned few points when you did that. – Accept. That’s what I’m talking about, I needed to be less stubborn and change positions, because I was trying to mentally change what I was doing on the catch: going up, going down or on the line, hitting with a cross. . But he often couldn’t get the ball up the court or where he wanted to go.
With Carlos I was able to play well at reception from afar, I’m good at that. I don’t care if the opponent hits the net after the serve. Yes, it’s harder, but he still has to do it right. Novak can do it well, that’s the first thing.
Secondly, I couldn’t play well enough at the reception, I don’t want to say it was his fault. Rather, because of me, I needed to be less stubborn and start closing in earlier, and not in the third set.
“You wish it was a warm day and he didn’t need a roof because he got the best of the tournament against you and Shelton.” — As for the heat, I don’t know. For me it is difficult when it is hot, but at the same time I usually earn more because both suffer. But in the Grand Slam final this is no longer important and should not affect you.
—What did you think about in the match after breaking? – Yes, good point. This happens sometimes. The second set was back and forth, I could have won. He pauses, we think the match is over, but I have to fight until the last point. I was able to do a reverse brake and I thought, come on, push it. But I couldn’t raise my level like I did in the second set.
Physically he was also a bit tired, but he felt the victory and was able to improve physically. I thought he needed to continue this physical battle, but in the third set I couldn’t do it, so I started failing more often and making worse decisions.
There are many regrets, but at the same time the other 23 finalists also very much regret the “slam” final against him (smiles).
Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
“It looked like you hurt your shoulder in the fall.” – No, I didn’t feel anything. At the time of the fall I thought it was probably not dangerous, but it could have hurt me. I checked for a minute: it hurts, it doesn’t hurt. I had another problem, in the third set it got worse and worse. But at the same time this is tennis. Maybe if I had won the second set I wouldn’t have thought about this problem. The pain would decrease. And when you lose, the pain intensifies. But I definitely didn’t lose because my shoulder hurt a little.
