Russia’s Daniil Medvedev admitted that he didn’t do well enough in Major tournaments in the ongoing season. Medvedev’s 2022 season, as far as the Slams are concerned, ended when he lost to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the four-set contest at the Flushing Meadows on Sunday in the fourth round.
Medvedev had a great opportunity to win his first Australian Open title as he had a two-set lead against Rafael Nadal in the final but could not close out the match. Furthermore, he lost in the fourth round of Roland Garros against Marin Cilic.
The Russian could not take part in Wimbledon due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He was not only knocked out of US Open but he is now all set to lose his World No.1 crown to one of Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, and Carlos Alcaraz. Thus, Medvedev wouldn’t be able to defend his US Open title.
“It was not the first thing on my mind walking after the match, saying, ‘Damn, will not be the World No. 1 anymore,’” Medvedev said.
“I actually don’t know which place I will be. Probably three or four. I guess Carlos (Alcaraz) will pass me. I don’t know, actually. But that’s motivation, try to do better. Obviously, it was the last Slam of the year. Didn’t do well enough. Didn’t win in Australia when I had the chance. Didn’t get the chance to play at Wimbledon. Roland Garros lost the fourth round. Here, the fourth round. Yeah, should do better. Should get more points if I want to be World No. 1 again.”
With this win, Nick Kyrgios extended his H2H advantage against Medvedev to 4-1. In fact, Medvedev compared Kyrgios’ level of the game to that of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“He played quite good in Montreal also. Yeah, it was a high-level match. [I’ve] played Novak, Rafa. They all play amazingly. Nick today played kind of their level, in my opinion,” Medvedev said.
“He has a little bit different game because he’s not like a grinder in a way. At the same time, he can rally. He’s tough to play. He has an amazing serve. But from baseline, it’s not like when the point starts, you know that you have the advantage. He plays well. He has every shot. It was a really high-level match, I mean, from him. If he plays like this until the end of the tournament, he has all the chances to win it.”
Kyrgios will next face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the US Open 2022.
