(VIDEO) "A Grand Slam is harder": Daniil Medvedev disagrees with Stefanos Tsitsipas on importance of ATP Finals

ATP
Saturday, 11 November 2023 at 17:30
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Daniil Medvedev expressed his disagreement with Stefanos Tsitsipas' claim that the ATP Finals are more important than a Grand Slam.

The 2023 Nitto ATP Finals will get underway tomorrow, Sunday, November 12, at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy, with the Top 8 players of the season battling it out for the title. Among the qualifiers is World No. 6 Tsitsipas, who recently expressed his belief that winning the season-ending tournament is bigger than a Grand Slam.

"It's a whole celebration. The ATP Finals is a commemoration and celebration of the best of the best in our sport. We all gather together and we get to play against each other and focus on the fact that we are the best in the world trying to fight for this mega trophy, which is a grand prize in our sport. It means a lot. I would consider it probably a bigger thing than a Slam, honestly. It has big prestige and it's a very valuable asset if you're able to conquer and win it," he said.

Medvedev cites the difficulty of Slams as a counterpoint

The other qualifiers for the 2023 ATP Finals are Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Alexander Zverev, and Holger Rune. Following Tsitsipas' statement, Rublev was asked about his opinion on the matter but the 26-year-old deferred the question to his compatriot.

"You better ask Danya [Medvedev], he has won both. I have won neither, anything will do for me," he said in Russian. World No. 3 Medvedev, who won the ATP Finals in 2020 and the US Open in 2021, answered by disagreeing with Tsitsipas, stating that Grand Slams are more important to him as he finds them more difficult. 

"I'd say a Slam. For me, it's harder because of five sets. Yes, you face only Top 10 players at year-end championships, from the very first match, but still, you need to win five matches and not seven. It makes a difference. You may even win four matches and still win the title. Anyway, everybody is entitled to their opinion but for me it's a Grand Slam," he said.

Medvedev will begin his campaign at the tournament against Rublev in his first Group Stage match. He will then face fellow Red Group members Alcaraz and Zverev in a bid to advance to the semi-final in Turin.

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