PENNSYLVANIA — German semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev today admitted he’d love to be a part of the next season’s Grand Slam season but admitted tennis doesn’t belong to just him.
“I would love to play (the U.S. Open) next year,” said Medvedev, from Moscow. “I love the U.S. Open. I like it there.
“I don’t think it belongs to one player or two players. I think it belongs to the whole tennis world. If it belongs to you it feels amazing to play the U.S. Open and you enjoy it. If it belongs to someone else it feels not as good.”
Medvedev, who is the No. 21 seed at the tournament, will face Kei Nishikori in the fourth round today.
Nishikori is coming off a loss in the semifinals to Roger Federer at this year’s U.S. Open.
Medvedev is still getting used to playing in the Grand Slams. He lost in the first round of the French Open to Richard Gasquet.
“It feels like a good way to start, winning,” Medvedev said. “I feel like it was very long time ago. (Gasquet) got into the second round here. I didn’t get into the first round in Roland Garros and the U.S. Open.
“Hopefully, (the French Open) did me a big favor. I’m feeling like I played well at the U.S. Open. I played some good tennis. In France, I felt like I didn’t.
“I think I can do better in the U.S. Open, because it’s not exactly the tennis that I play. So hopefully I can find the spot.”
Medvedev made a run through the qualifying rounds last year that lasted 18 days.
He didn’t make it past the second round in 2013.
He missed last year’s U.S. Open, then won the Doha Open this year for his first title on the ATP Tour.
His greatest moment came when he defeated Novak Djokovic on hardcourt in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Djokovic spent 12 seasons as the No. 1 player.
“To beat a man like Djokovic means you are in a great way,” Medvedev said. “It’s actually very important for me because that’s what you need to do, to beat top guys.
“Maybe Novak didn’t have a big world ranking. He was the No. 1 for 12 years in a row. He was at No. 1 for so many years. That’s what it takes to be the best of the best. It takes a lot of hours. It takes a lot of hard work. For me, it’s very important to beat him, in a very important match. Not only that, but he was still one of the top players in the world at that moment.”
Medvedev would also like to meet Federer, who could potentially meet him in the quarterfinals.
“Yeah, of course,” Medvedev said. “I would really like to play against him next year. We already played in London this year and I think it was a good match. So I don’t know. It will be too big. But maybe if I feel good enough to play against him, I think it’s a good thing. I think he’s had great years.”
Medvedev said his ranking could improve from the No. 21 spot at the start of the week.
“I really feel like my ranking is improving every tournament,” Medvedev said. “I feel like the U.S. Open was my best tournament, top 20 or something. At Wimbledon I was three (world-ranked). Then after that I had two weeks of preparation for the Open. I feel like my game is improving every tournament.”