Daniil Medvedev aims to make a strong comeback following a one-sided loss to Novak Djokovic in the US Open final.
Daniil Medvedev’s coach has warned the rest of the field that his charge is hungrier than ever after suffering a tough loss to Novak Djokovic. The pair faced off in the recent US Open final where the world No 1 defeated Medvedev in straight sets. And Gilles Cervara said the 27-year-old had even more motivation to end the year as strong as possible.
Medvedev found himself back in a US Open final against Djokovic earlier this month, having beaten the Serb in the championship match two years ago. But it was a different story this time around as the world No 1 came through 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3, including a brutal one-hour-and-45-minute second set.
It marked the Russian’s fourth defeat in five Grand Slam finals and was a disappointing end to a tournament that saw Medvedev upset top seed and reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final. But he is set to be even more dangerous at the last few events of the season as the Djokovic defeat has sparked even more desire to win.
“This US Open final makes us hungry,” Medvedev’s coach Cervara said in a warning to the rest of the tour, per Tennis Majors. “It gives us confidence, it gives us the desire to be able to perform well at the end of the season and in the tournaments.”
The world No 3 is one of the players who has already qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. There are also two Masters 1000 left this season in Shanghai and Paris, and Medvedev has previously hoisted titles at all three tournaments.
He will be keen to finish the season strong with at least one more title, picking up five this year already. Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, his French coach added: “The last five tournaments that we have left are still prestigious and important tournaments.
“So, I really hope that we will be good as a team, hoping that Daniil will perform very well.” Medvedev recently took a break following his US Open defeat, sharing photos of his family holiday on Instagram. But Cervara confirmed that his charge returned to training this week.
Medvedev pulled out of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition in Frankfurt following the US Open final as he had nothing left in the tank following a lengthy North American hard-court summer. After some rest and recovery, the world No 3 will no doubt be raring to go in the Asian swing.
