Dominic Thiem explains why Daniil Medvedev might be the biggest threat to Novak Djokovic at the US Open, says he has "no weaknesses"
Dominic Thiem recently gave his thoughts on why Daniil Medvedev is possibly the biggest obstacle in Novak Djokovic's path at the ongoing US Open. According to Thiem, Medvedev would likely be a tougher opponent for the Serb than Alexander Zverev or Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Daniil Medvedev is the second seed at this year's US Open, so he cannot face the top-seeded Novak Djokovic before the finals. However, Medvedev doesn't have the best of memories while playing in Slam finals.
The Russian lost an epic five-setter to Rafael Nadal in the 2019 US Open final, despite fighting back from two sets and a break down. He also made the summit clash of the Australian Open this year, where he was handed a thrashing by Novak Djokovic.
But Dominic Thiem believes the Russian could pose the biggest challenge to Novak Djokovic at New York because of his well-rounded game and elite fitness levels. According to the Austrian, Medvedev has everything a player would want, without any noticeable weaknesses.
"It is super different - super interesting to watch but very very tough to play," Dominic Thiem said while speaking on Tennis Channel. "Because he doesn't miss and, great serve.. great return. He's really tall, but moves so well for such a big player. So he has no weakness, (and) that makes him very difficult. And also he's super fit. That makes him, in my opinion, maybe the biggest challenge to Novak."
While some consider Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to be big threats to Novak Djokovic too, Dominic Thiem reckons Daniil Medvedev is above them both in the pecking order. The Austrian pointed out that Medvedev has played more Slam finals than the other two, which he believes will serve as a "huge experience" should the Russian make it to the summit clash at Flushing Meadows.
"He has that slight advantage to Stefanos and Sascha that he has already played two Slam finals," Thiem said. "And I think each Slam final, if you lose it's a bad experience. But still if you participate in it, a huge experience for the following ones."
What makes Daniil Medvedev a bigger threat to Novak Djokovic than Alexander Zverev?
While Dominic Thiem believes Daniil Medvedev is the most likely candidate to stop Novak Djokovic from achieving tennis history at the US Open, there are others who claim Alexander Zverev could be the one to beat the Serb. After all, the German did come back from a set and a break down to beat Djokovic at the Tokyo Olympics.
But still others have pointed out that Zverev is entering the US Open with a lot of baggage - most notably the domestic violence allegations by his ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova. And while the German has proven to be mentally tough in recent times, there is a growing consensus that the off-court issues might start affecting him at some point.
Daniil Medvedev, on the other hand, has no such baggage. But more importantly, Medvedev has proven in the past that he is someone who learns from his mistakes quickly.
The Russian has a tennis IQ that many say is only rivaled by Novak Djokovic himself. It is likely that Medvedev would have done an in-depth analysis of the reasons behind his Australian Open loss to Djokovic.
Whether he comes out on top or not this time is a different matter altogether. But there is little doubt that Dominic Thiem's assertion about the Russian being the biggest threat to Novak Djokovic at the US Open is backed by sound reasoning.