Ahead of the 2024 season, Daniil Medvedev discussed Rafael Nadal’s impending return to tennis after a long absence. He compared the Spaniard to Novak Djokovic, remarking he faced more problems playing him than the Serb.
Nadal will make a comeback at the Brisbane International after spending almost a year out due to injuries. The entire tennis fraternity awaits with bated breath for one of the all-time greats to get back on the court.
Medvedev, who has established himself as one of the best players of this generation, is one of the few elite names considered genuine challengers for the big titles. With many expecting Nadal to push for at least one more Grand Slam, the two could cross paths soon.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 2023 World Tennis League (via The National News), Medvedev remarked Nadal and Djokovic are similar. Whenever they play, they mostly win and are very hard to beat.
“It’s kind of the same like with Novak; it’s just that all the seasons that he played he wins a lot of matches and doesn’t lose many. It’s very tough to beat him.”
He said his record against Nadal is worse than that against Djokovic. However, the Russian claimed he came close to winning some times against the former, adding he looked forward to their match-up again. He admitted he had no idea of Nadal’s current fitness. He called his return ‘great for tennis’.
“Actually with Rafa maybe I even had even less success than with Novak in a way. But we had some tight matches where I felt like I could win and maybe he got the edge in the end. So for me, it’s going to be a great challenge if I have to face him. I don’t know at the moment his shape, no one knows, and how he’s going to handle. But from what I saw, he seems to be doing good and that’s great for tennis.”
Daniil Medvedev record against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
The discourse over Rafael Nadal’s return refuses to die down. Despite falling out of the top 600 and struggling with injuries, he is still backed to contend at least for the French Open title. Daniil Medvedev is rightfully cautious of seeing him return. He has a very lop-sided record against the 22-time Grand Slam winner.
The pair last met in the semi-final of the 2022 Mexican Open in Acapulco. Nadal won that fixture to take his head-to-head lead against Medvedev to 5-1. The Russian has lost two Grand Slam finals to the Spaniard, namely the 2022 Australian Open and the 2019 US Open. Their first clash was in the final of the 2019 Canadian Open, in which Medvedev suffered a bagel and lost. His only win over Nadal came in the semi-finals of the 2020 ATP Finals, where he eventually lifted the title.
Medvedev has a relatively better head-to-head against Novak Djokovic, rightly saying he has faced more issues against Nadal than the World No.1. Against the Serb, the 2021 US Open champion trails 5-10. True to their pedigree, most of their clashes have been finals or semi-finals. Like anybody else, Medvedev is surely glad to see Nadal return to the court. However, with both legends on the tour, he will be wary of his chances.
