Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 21, 2021 Russia’s Daniil Medvedev reacts during his final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 21, 2021 Russia’s Daniil Medvedev reacts during his final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has voiced agreement with Roger Federer’s comment that the next generation of tennis stars are not given due credit for what they bring to the sport. The twenty-time Grand Slam champion had recently said that it’s “difficult” for the next lot of superstars to avoid comparisons with the “Big Three,” which is the combined nickname for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
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Medvedev asks if tennis was boring before Roger Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic
The Swiss player had added that even if a player from the Next-Gen wins a Grand Slam and the ‘Big Three’ are not in it, they wouldn’t get the credit they deserve.
“That’s wrong. They are doing a great job,” Roger Federer had said.
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Giving his take on the champion’s remark, the Russian World Number 2 told Essentially Sports that he finds it funny when people say who after the Big Three?
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Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 21, 2021 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev after their final match REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Medvedev said that coming across such comments makes him wonder if spectators and fans didn’t follow tennis when the ‘Big Three” weren’t there.
“Nobody before had records like Roger, Novak and Rafa’s. So tennis was boring or what? I guess not,” Medvedev said.
The Russian said that even the legends who came before Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic don’t get enough “credit” as many of the records that they set have fallen to the ‘Big Three’.
Medvedev says Next-Gen are dragged down if they don’t beat Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic
Medvedev added that what he and other Next-Gen colleagues are trying to accomplish is to win more against the ‘Big Three’ at marquee events and loosen their hold on titles, especially in Grand Slams.
However, he said that he is sometimes disappointed at how their efforts to push the ‘Big Three’, even if unsuccessful, aren’t acknowledged enough in the media.
“I feel like it’s sometimes disappointing when other people are bringing us down because of them,” the Russian said.
A losing finalist at this year’s Australian Open, Medvedev was routed in straight sets by Djokovic.
However, it was the Russian who had the better of the Serb and Nadal on his way to lifting the prestigious, season-ending ATP Finals title last year.
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