"I saw Novak Djokovic struggling with his leg" - Daniil Medvedev picks favorites for French Open title amid Serb's fitness concerns
Daniil Medvedev said that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the two favorites to win the French Open. The Russian made the statement after claiming that Novak Djokovic was having leg problems.
Medvedev's journey at the French Open came to an end at the hands of 11th seed Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. The World No. 5 started the match well and won the first set 6-4. However, the Aussie bounced back strongly and won the next three sets to register a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 win and reach his second Grand Slam quarterfinal.
After the match, Medvedev was asked who he thought were the favorites to win the French Open after his elimination. The Russian responded by calling predictions "disrespectful", claiming that other players were underestimated.
The 28-year-old also said that Djokovic was struggling with his leg and said that because of this, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz were the favorites because of their quality and experience of winning Grand Slams.
"Very, very tough to say. I always think predictions are disrespectful because when you say someone, it's like you're a but underestimating the other guys. I saw Novak struggling with his leg or something, so this, I don't know. At the moment seeing Novak struggling with his leg, I would say Carlos or Jannik because they are both playing good," Daniil Medvedev said. (3:00)
"You know, Jannik had a tough one yesterday, maaged to come back. So, just statistically saying, they both have a slam, they have experience, they are top 2,3 in the world. So, my opinion Carlos or Jannik but let's see," he added.
After Daniil Medvedev's eliminatio, Novak Djokovic reaches French Open QF
While Daniil Medvedev bit the dust in the fourth round of the French Open, Novak Djokovic managed to book his place in the quarterfinals.
The Serb faced Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round and was trailing after two sets before registering a 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory. Here, he will face seventh Casper Ruud, who sealed a 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over 12th see Taylor Fritz. It will be a rematch of last year's French Open final.
The likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have both booked their respective spots in the quarterfinals of the clay-court Major with wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Corentin Moutet respectively. The Spaniard will face ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas while the Italian will take on tenth seed Grigor Dimitrov.