While everyone is hoping for a showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in the 2023 US Open final, Daniil Medvedev is going to do everything to make sure that doesn't happen.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have an ongoing rivalry as the two had some of the finest matches in the last few months.
The Spaniard broke the Serb's 14-match win streak at Wimbledon and handed him a defeat in July.
On the other, Djokovic made an excellent comeback and shook Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open final in August.
Everyone is waiting for another face-off between the two, but they are forgetting Medvedev, who defeated Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final.
The Russian acknowledges and appreciates the ongoing rivalry between Alcaraz and Djokovic and states that it is good for tennis.
“I think it’s great for tennis that we have these two guys playing against each other right now,” said Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion.
“It’s a great story, but then the tournament starts and hopefully we can — when I say ‘we’, I mean me personally or someone else — we’re going to try to beat them and stop them from playing each other.
“Consciously, I don’t think about it. I just try to win. That’s the most important [thing]. But unconsciously, I feel like many times I was playing good in this role. Hopefully it can help me this week, these two weeks.”
The 27-year-old is in great form in 2023 with five title triumphs in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Rome and cannot be ruled out on the hard-court event.
In 2023 Wimbledon, he reached the semi-final but lost against the ultimate champion Alcaraz.
“I think that’s normal we talk about them. I do think we still talk about me. I’m not feeling too bad, but I’m going to try. The goal is, after this US Open, that we talk about me, so I’m going to try to do it.
“Two years ago, I managed to play definitely one of, if not the best, match of my life. I want to try to do it again.”
Medvedev will begin his campaign against Hungary’s Attila Balazs on Tuesday.
