Daniil Medvedev admits he ‘must do better’ to regain world number one spot
World number four Daniil Medvedev said he ”did not feel much” when he relinquished control of being top of the ATP world rankings to Carlos Alcaraz after the US Open as he admitted to simply not playing well enough over recent months.
Medvedev was beaten by Nick Kyrgios in four sets in the fourth round in New York, opening up the opportunity for either Alcaraz or Casper Ruud to take the number one spot as they faced off in the final. Alcaraz prevailed, becoming the youngest in history to achieve the feat. The Russian now drops to fourth in the rankings, behind Alcaraz, Ruud and Rafael Nadal.
“The ranking is the consequence of your results and if we take the American summer, for example, I did not take enough points to stay No. 1, or even No. 2 or 3, ” said Medvedev.
”Whereas Casper, Carlos, Rafa, of course with the two Grand Slams he won at the start of the year, they took a lot more points. So it’s just logical.
“I have no feelings about it, no reason to cry. I can only tell myself that I have to do better if I want to find this place in the future.”
Nevertheless, the Russian was quick to praise the man who had replaced him at the top of the world rankings. “He’s the youngest world No. 1 ever, and it says a lot because we had quite a few great champions in tennis’ history.
“The guy plays five set matches, finishes at 3am, recovers, wins the trophy and becomes world number one, what’s he done since the beginning of his career is just completely insane.”
Daniil Medvedev was speaking to the media on the eve of the Moselle Open in Metz as he looks to forward to a busy schedule between now and the end of the season. He hopes to achieve the best ranking possible for the Australian Open in January, an event where he finished runner up last year with a strong showing at the indoor events, including the Masters 1000 in Paris.
”Next year, the Australian Open will come very fast after the end of the season. So it’s important to gain confidence at the end of the year…and to take a lot of points indoors to be seeded as high as possible for Melbourne.”
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