Daniil Medvedev's coach lauds Novak Djokovic for winning Paris Masters, but jokes that Medvedev "won the final that had to be won"
Daniil Medvedev's coach, Gilles Cervara, recently gave his thoughts on Sunday's Paris Masters final between Novak Djokovic and his ward. Djokovic came from a set down to defeat Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, thus exacting revenge for the US Open final result.
Medvedev overwhelmed Djokovic at the New York Major, defeating him in straight sets. But while the 25-year-old was operating at his best that day, Djokovic looked a tad fatigued - which many felt was the primary reason behind the lopsided nature of the loss.
Speaking to L'Equipe on Monday, Gilles Cervara first showered praise on Novak Djokovic for his Paris Masters win. But in the same breath, Cervara cheekily claimed that he and Daniil Medvedev had won the more important final - the one at the US Open.
"Bravo Novak," Cervara said. "I found him much stronger than in New York (victory 6-4, 6-4, 6-4). Fortunately, we won the final that had to be won (smiles)."
Cervara went on to point out that Medvedev did well to take the first set in Paris after experiencing a few wobbly service games at the start of the match. He further opined that Djokovic appeared "very relaxed" throughout the contest.
"Daniil did well in the 1st set because he saves two break points to 2-3 and raised his level to dominate Novak," Cervara said. "Novak seemed very relaxed, yes, but I'm never surprised with him."
Tough match today. I fought to the end. Congrats to @DjokerNole on the win and year end ranking. I keep working to the end. @atptour https://t.co/cZAKINzLql
According to Daniil Medvedev's coach, the fact that Novak Djokovic was outplayed by the Russian in the first set helped him push harder to regain his groove. Cervara also believes that Medvedev lacked a bit of energy towards the end, which made it difficult for him to hold serve against a player of Djokovic's caliber.
"I just think he (Novak Djokovic) felt dominated and that's a way to turn his back on what's happening," Cervara went on. "Then get back from the beginning of the 2nd set. At the beginning of this phase, there was still an important moment that could have passed for Daniil. Same as the 3rd. I think he missed a little energy to be more accurate, trickier to hold even more against Novak at this level."
Novak Djokovic & Daniil Medvedev heading to Turin for the ATP Finals
With the Paris Masters coming to a close, the big guns - namely the top eight players in the 2021 rankings - will now head to Turin for the ATP Finals.
This is the first time that the Italian city will be hosting the year-ending championship, which was played in London from 2009 to 2020.
Novak Djokovic will lead the field as the top seed, and will be in a different group to Daniil Medvedev given that the latter is ranked No. 2.
Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud are the other players to have qualified for the season-ending showpiece event.
🏆 DJOKO-SIX 🏆
@DjokerNole defeats Medvedev 4-6 6-3 6-2 to win the #RolexParisMasters for a SIXTH time and claim a record 37th Masters 1000 title! https://t.co/v82P2yKXX3