The Australian Open title is up for grabs for someone like Daniil Medvedev especially in Novak Djokovic’s absence from the event. The Russian who recently defeated the home favourite Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the Happy Slam is looking to win his second Major in Melbourne.
When asked whether he is looking to leapfrog Novak Djokovic by winning the Australian Open, the Russian star was modest in his reply. He highlighted the importance of improving every day. He finally conceded that he would like to push for the World No. 1 ranking and finish with 25 Grand Slams.
He also revealed how the ATP Cup has been a good experience for him though he failed to win the title for Russia. He claimed that winning tough matches is very valuable in his learning curve.
“Well, you know, I think the higher you climb the rankings, the further you want to go. I have been No. 2 for quite a long time,” Medvedev said in a press conference after beating Nick Kyrgios. “I have been playing pretty well. Of course, yeah, I want to, you know, become No. 1, win 25 Slams, or something like this.”
However, he then went on to prioritize hard work and overall improvement. “But again, for me the most important is hard work on myself, trying to improve my game, to be a better player, so try to win every tournament I play. Like I played ATP Cup, managed to come back from a tough loss, win three matches, were really close to making something big for Russia, but we didn’t manage to do it.”
While Medvedev is favourite to win the Australian Open and by doing so he will leapfrog Djokovic and take over the World No. 1 ranking. However the Russian feels that him being the No.1 should not necessarily indicate that Djokovic was not allowed to defend his title due to some infamous circumstances.
Sometimes somebody’s injured, sometimes somebody lose. Well, he didn’t manage to play here. That was a big story, but the result is this, and if I manage to become No. 1, even with these circumstances, I think I should still have some credits,” the Russian concluded.
Medvedev will next play Dutch tennis player Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round of the Australian Open.
