“Ridiculous Numbers”: Daniil Medvedev Opens Up on Emulating the Big Three’s Grand Slam Feats

Published 02/15/2021, 4:30 AM EST

Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has expressed his awe over the Grand Slam accomplishments of the ‘Big Three’ – combined moniker for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

Speaking to reporters after progressing to the Australian Open quarters with a comfortable victory over Mackenzie McDonald of the United States on Monday, the Russian said that his mind boggles at the thought of how far he has to go to even come close to what the Big Three have achieved in Majors.

Medvedev says he doesn’t see himself matching the Big Three’s Grand Slam feats

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The World Number 4 said that although it is fair to assume that he is one of the top players in the contemporary men’s circuit, he is yet to sink his teeth into Grand Slam glory and has a long way to go before he can even dream of rivaling the Big Three.

Medvedev, who won back-to-back titles at the elite Rolex Paris Masters and the ATP Finals last year, said he grew up watching Pete Sampras set his own mark with 14 Grand Slam and felt the record will stand forever like the ones being set by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, that was before Federer, Nadal and Djokovic unleashed themselves into the world of tennis and went about setting their own individual benchmarks.

“Then the three guys came, they didn’t just beat the record (Sampras’ career haul in Grand Slams), they destroyed it,” Medvedev said.

Putting some context into the argument of him emulating the Big Three’s incredible Grand Slam numbers, the Russian said he would have to win all the Majors over the next five years to cross the milestones set by Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

Daniil Medvedev moved into the quarters of Australian Open on Monday

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Also, bringing his poor run at the French Open to the context, a smiling Medvedev said, “Roland-Garros, I’m not so good so far.”

While not saying as much, the Russian conceded that reaching where the ‘Big Three’ have gone might prove to be a bridge too far for him.

“Five years in a row I need to win every Slam against amazing opponents, five-set matches, not be injured. That’s ridiculous numbers,” said Medvedev, who took Russia to its maiden ATP Cup title this year.

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He settled the argument with a glowing tribute to the Big Three, calling them “the greatest players in the history of tennis.”

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

“Ridiculous Numbers”: Daniil Medvedev Opens Up on Emulating the Big Three’s Grand Slam Feats

Medvedev says he doesn’t see himself matching the Big Three’s Grand Slam feats

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Daniil Medvedev moved into the quarters of Australian Open on Monday