Daniil Medvedev has declared it is “going to be a great challenge” if he faces Rafael Nadal when the great Spaniard makes his return to tennis in 2024.
The world No 3 recognised he has had “even less success” against Nadal than Novak Djokovic and feels the tennis legend’s return to action is great for the sport.
Medvedev has won just one of his six career encounters with Nadal, which were contested between 2019 and 2022, while he holds a 5-10 record against Djokovic.
Two of Nadal’s triumphs against the 2021 US Open winner were epic five-set battles in the finals of the 2019 US Open and the 2022 Australian Open.
Nadal will make his comeback at the Brisbane International tournament in January in preparation for the 2024 Australian Open.
The 37-year-old has not played since suffering a hip injury in his second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open in January. The Spaniard underwent surgery to address the issue in June, having initially expected to be out for around six to eight weeks.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was forced to postpone his intended comeback during this year’s clay-court season and missed Roland Garros for the first time since 2004.
In an interview with The National, Medvedev revealed he is wary of the threat former world No 1 Nadal poses despite his lengthy injury layoff.
“It’s very tough to beat him. Actually with Rafa maybe I even had even less success than with Novak [Djokovic] in a way. But we had some tight matches where I felt like I could win and maybe he got the edge in the end,” he said.
“So for me it’s going to be a great challenge if I have to face him. I don’t know at the moment his shape, no one knows, and how he’s going to handle [it]. But from what I saw, he seems to be doing good and that’s great for tennis.”
Medvedev also discussed being part of a group of four players, along with Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, at the top of the ATP Rankings.
“For sure, if we take last year and many, many different tournaments, we did separate a little bit from the rest at one point of the season and especially at the end, regarding the points,” the world No 3 explained.
“But I do think that this also shows that every season can be different. Stefanos [Tsitsipas] made a final in the Australian Open – for different reasons [he] had a tougher end of the season, but he can come back there and pass me. Sinner or Carlos or Novak, anyone.
“The only thing we’re sure is Novak is always there. I could be out of [the top] 10, Novak is always there. So hopefully I can be part of this top four and whoever the other three guys and I’m going to try to do it.”
The 27-year-old Russian went on to outline his approach ahead of the 2024 season and identified areas he wants to improve on from this year.
“Getting older, you know, I’m not any more 23 and going for my first big title and I’m like, ‘OK, I want to do more’. So at this stage of my life, at least right now, I hope this can last for a long time,” Medvedev added.
“I have just the biggest motivation ever to just continue finding my limits, to just go for more. Try to be even more professional, try to fight harder, be better on the court.
“Because at the end of the season, I was a little bit too much all over the place because I was mentally tired. So I’m going to try to do all of this better next year and hopefully I can become a better player.”
