World No.2 Daniil Medvedev recently emerged as the champion of the US Open 2021. He won his first Grand Slam title after defeating World No.1 Novak Djokovic in the finals. With this win, he also stopped the Serbian legend from achieving his Calendar Slam in New York.

Even though Daniil Medvedev called Novak Djokovic as the greatest player of all time, he once claimed that Roger Federer has been his toughest opponent. However, there was a time when he used to hate the Swiss Maestro as a kid.

In one of his earlier interviews, Medvedev admitted that he hated Federer because the Swiss player didn’t use to lose any matches. He also mentioned that he used to cheer for all the players facing him so that they could beat the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

“I hated Roger. I just couldn’t see him win again. I was cheering from the first round for other guys because that’s the way I was,” said Medvedev in that interview.

As of now, the Swiss player leads the Russian 3-0 in their head-to-head battle. They last met at the Miami Open 2019 where Federer thrashed Medvedev in straight sets.

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Daniil Medvedev also compared the winning-streak of Roger Federer to that of Barcelona FC

Medvedev is a huge fan of European football. Thus, he drew a parallel between Federer and Barcelona’s winning streak. There was a time when Spanish club used to dominate Football from 2008-2012. After comparing the two, the Russian stated that since Barcelona was winning almost every title during that period, he also wanted them to lose badly.

“When Barcelona was winning everything in football, I wanted them to lose badly,” added the World No.2 player back then.

After a successful US Open 2021 campaign, Medvedev will now be playing at the Laver Cup 2021. The European fans have really high expectations from him and want him to keep playing with the same momentum. Will he be able to guide ‘Team Europe’ to yet another victory even in the absence of the ‘Big Three’?

Also Read: “Felt Like Roger Federer”: Holgar Rune Recalls Facing Novak Djokovic at US Open 2021