"After Novak Djokovic, everything comes easy" - Hamad Medjedovic on why Bjorn Borg's presence during match against Swede legend's son did not faze him
Standing just a few feet away from 11-time Grand Slam champion Bjorn Borg on Tuesday, Hamad Medjedovic rained down four aces in a row to send the Swede legend's son Leo packing out of the ATP Challenger in Chennai.
Medjedovic showed no nerves whatsoever, and later remarked that Bjorn Borg's presence at the tournament on such a big occasion did not weigh on his mind. Having become used to top players watching him play - Novak Djokovic, for example - Medjedovic is more than used to the attention by now.
Speaking to the press after his 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win, the Serb joked about how nothing fazes him anymore now that he has spent quality time with Djokovic. Medjedovic trains at the Novak Tennis Center in Belgrade, where he often interacts with the current World No. 1.
"No, no, not really because I know, I read somewhere, somebody sent me that he was coming to watch. Honestly, I didn't have any problems with that because i got used to it by the time, some players watched me, especially Novak, you know," he said, in response to a question from Sportskeeda. "I had the biggest [sic] with it when he's watching me. So after him, everything comes easy, you know."
Medjedovic had recently joined the Serbian team at the Davis Cup Qualifiers, and he touched on that experience as well, stating that it was one of the best weeks of his tennis career. While Djokovic could not be part of the team, Miomir Kecmanovic, Laslo Djere and Medjedovic helped their squad book a spot in the group stage of the Finals with a 4-0 win over Norway.
"Honestly, it was one of the best weeks of my tennis career. It was amazing. I was surrounded by the best players from our country. You know, the guys are so professional. I always admire them," Hamad Medjedovic said. "I looked up to them and, you know, to get the chance to play with them, to be teammates with them. It's a special feeling and to get the win at the end, you know, it's also a special feeling."
Hamad Medjedovic also weighed in on one of his main strengths -- his powerful serve, which sometimes clocks 220 km/hr. While the 19-year-old was happy that his physique allowed him such liberties, he admitted that he wanted to improve on the consistency of his serving to make it more of a threat.
"I mean, it's not the thing that I focus on, you know. I have the physique. I can serve pretty fast but I don't think that's the point, you know. I think you should be more consistent, you have to be more consistent with the serve," he said. "You know, your percentage needs to be good. I mean I think that's a lot better than to serve one out of 10 at 220 km/hr."
"There are a lot of challenges but we do what we love the most" - Hamad Medjedovic on the challenges of a young player coming up from a country like Serbia
Hamad Medjedovic also spoke about the challenges of being a young player coming up from a small country like Serbia, asserting that it was the same as everyone else. Medjedovic is happy with where he is, and he added that he loved playing tennis and was looking forward to keep pressing forward.
"[Same challenges] as everybody else, you know, from every other country. There are a lot of challenges but we do what we love the most and I'm happy where I am. I'm happy with the job that I do every day, you know?" Hamad Medjedovic said. "There are a lot of challenges but you have to keep going. You have, you have to love what you do because otherwise you're not going to make it."