Daniil Medvedev shares a sweet story about Novak Djokovic & says he treats him the same way now as he did when he was ranked #400 in the world: “For sure the story was unbelievable. We practiced with Novak. That was so funny. He was even like, ‘Oh, we play Davis Cup in couple…
Novak Djokovic full of praise for Medvedev, Sinner and Alcaraz, relationship better with 'younger players' than Federer and Nadal
ATPWednesday, 24 January 2024 at 07:23
Novak Djokovic has admitted that his relationship with the 'younger players' on tour which can include Daniil Medvedev who he praised for his kind words and telling the story about helping him out when he was down at 400th in the ATP Rankings as better as the Big Three including Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic has been open previously including on his 60 Minutes that he currently doesn't have a friendship with either of his rivals for the reason of their battles on court, but that he hopes one day to become friends with Federer and Nadal in particular becoming close off court after their rivalry ended and the former visited the latter at his Academy recently.
“First of all, I want to thank Daniil for his kind words, he pleasantly surprised me. He did already tell that story, but I very much appreciate the way he brought it to people. I, too, have the best possible opinion about him as a person, colleague, and as one of my biggest rivals in the last five years. I know that he is a man with the right values and it’s true when he says that he has a great relationship with the majority of the Tour – I can see it in the locker room, he and his team try to communicate nicely with everybody.”
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion said that he has no regrets about his career carrying on past his rivals but that he enjoys his rivalries now with Alcaraz, Medvedev and Sinner and gets along with them all fairly well.
“Yes, no particular regret or it would (mean something to me) to finish alongside Nadal. They are two of my biggest rivals – especially Nadal, as I’ve said numerous times – and that’s never going to change. The amount of energy spent on our rivalry during all these years, how many times we played each other (Djokovic leads head-to-head 30-29)… It’s impossible for me to play Alcaraz sixty times. That won’t be possible, because he will finish his career before me," continued Djokovic before starting to laugh.
“Jokes aside, I am really enjoying the rivalries I have with all those guys. Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner, everybody near the top I get along with quite nicely. If I were to compare my relationship with them to the one I had with Federer and Nadal, the relationship with my younger fellow players is much better, nicer. I enjoy it.”
“Jokes aside, I am really enjoying the rivalries I have with all those guys. Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner, everybody near the top I get along with quite nicely. If I were to compare my relationship with them to the one I had with Federer and Nadal, the relationship with my younger fellow players is much better, nicer. I enjoy it.”
He was asked to further elaborate on the difference between the two eras. “I don’t know, it’s just more open, the younger guys are more communicative. We just get along better, that’s it.”
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