"It’s not a bad rivalry!" says Medvedev ahead of clash with Djokovic

Daniil Medvedev will face Novak Djokovic in the Astana Open semi-final tomorrow and the Russian is excited about it.

Medvedev and Djokovic have played 10 times so far with the Serbian winning six times. Their last three matches were all finals with Djokovic winning the Australian Open final two years ago. Medvedev won their next clash at the US Open. That was a final as well and their most recent clash was the Paris Masters final won by Djokovic.

After his win over Bautista Agut, Medvedev said:

“It was great! Of course I know that Roberto can play much better than he did today. He’s proved that many times, not only against me. But that’s what tennis is, one day you feel bad, one day you feel worse. So I’m happy I managed to play the right game, to be really solid, to do everything I can to make his life difficult. I’m really happy to win [against] him.”

Asked whether his motivation to win rises when he faces Djokovic, Medvedev responded:

“Not really because I want to beat everybody. I would say Rafa [Nadal] even more because I lost two Grand Slam finals against Rafa. But I’m really happy to play against Novak. I thought about this before the match, we’ve only actually played one tournament together this year, which was Roland Garros. We meet again and I’m really happy. I feel like it’s not a bad rivalry. Of course not close to Novak against Roger or Rafa, but still. I need to be at my best tomorrow.”