US Open Second Service: Medvedev not worried about pressure “I don’t feel it, to be honest” and Alcaraz saddened by Baez’s retirement “Nobody deserves this”
Looking back on the big news in our exclusive ‘US Open Second Service’… Daniil Medvedev is not flustered by title defence or pressure saying “I don’t feel it, to be honest.” as Spanish teen phenom Alcaraz was saddened by the match ending in retirement “Nobody deserves this”, plus more…
To start, Daniil Medvedev is firmly set on successfully defending his US Open title, a feat which would see him become the first man to do so in over a decade.
The last man to defend a US Open title was Roger Federer back in 2008 when he claimed the last of his five consecutive titles in Flushing Meadows.
“I definitely don’t want to forget about [the memories of winning last year],” Medvedev said when asked of his mindset as defending champion. “I mean, there’s a little bit extra pressure but mostly, I mean, I don’t feel it, to be honest.
In other news, Carlos Alcaraz fought a tough battle before his adversary Sebastian Baez was eventually forced to end their encounter in the third set.
The 19-year-old third seed hailed his 21-year-old opponent for his grit before the unfortunate retirement with a leg injury.
“Nobody wants to see a match end like this,” he said in his post-match interview. “Both players and all of you don’t deserve an end like this. Sebastian is a great player, he fights until the last ball. So he deserves the best.”
Read more about Alcaraz’s post-match comments here
Moving on, Mats Wilander has urged Emma Raducanu to focus on her game’s identity after her US Open title reign came to a disappointing end.
However, he believes there is a great opportunity at hand for her too.
“I don’t see much of a difference from Emma this year compared to last year, except she was just confident and other players were scared to play her,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“Emma Raducanu is good but she’s not great. She had a lot of confidence last year, and she is a fighter, and she plays well. The only thing I don’t know is, I feel like she hasn’t quite found her identity as a player.
Read more about Wilander breaking down the meaning of Raducanu’s loss here.
Dominic Thiem is positive despite his first-round US Open exit as he looks to continue his climb back to the top of the sport.
The 2020 US Open champion made his first appearance in New York since winning the title two years ago against 12th seed and Canadian Masters champion Pablo Carreno Busta.
“I think that it was not bad at all the whole match. Probably intensity-wise and shots-wise the best since Paris,” Thiem described in his post-match press conference. “A lot of good things to take from this match. I think everybody who thought that I was the favourite today was far away from reality.
Read all of Thiem’s comments here
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