"I think Novak Djokovic has to work on the Wi-Fi maybe a little bit in his center" - Daniil Medvedev
During a recent Laver Cup press conference, Daniil Medvedev cracked a joke at Novak Djokovic's expense, asking the Serb to improve the internet facilities at his tennis training center in Belgrade.
Medvedev is coming off his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open, where he beat Djokovic in stunning fashion in the final. In another first, the Russian will be making his Laver Cup debut this week, spearheading Team Europe's challenge in the absence of the Big 3.
During his pre-tournament press conference, Medvedev was posed a question about his first experience of the Laver Cup. And interestingly, the reporter who asked that was located at the Novak Djokovic Tennis Center in Belgrade.
However, the reporter was not fully audible due to a few disturbances at their end. That prompted the ever-cheeky Medvedev to take a sly dig at the Wi-Fi services available at Djokovic's training center.
"Yeah, I think Novak has to work on the Wi-Fi maybe a little bit in his center, because we couldn't hear all the question, but I think I heard the end," Medvedev said.
Medvedev shifted his focus to the bits he could understand, and asserted that he was "excited" to represent Team Europe. The Russian, however, revealed that he would only play singles at the event as he does not consider himself to be a good doubles player.
"Really excited to be representing Europe, my first experience, so I don't know what to expect," Medvedev added. "Again, I know the format, just want to bring the most points possible for my team in singles, because I don't think I'm playing doubles, I'm not really good (smiling)."
Medvedev was also asked by a reporter if any of his teammates had given him any advice on what to expect from the Laver Cup.
In response, the US Open champion claimed that Alexander Zverev had explained to him how Team Europe generally does not enjoy much support even when the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are in action.
This is plausible since Team World is mostly comprised of Americans who enjoy the lion's share of support from their home crowd.
"Yeah, I was actually interested, I asked Sascha yesterday when we practiced, how was it in Chicago, because that's when we were kind of the guests," Medvedev said. "He told me, yeah, everybody is gonna be against us, that even when Roger is playing it's really rare, or Novak, they were kind of against them also."
"To be honest, not so much" - Daniil Medvedev on whether winning the US Open by beating Novak Djokovic has brought about a different perspective
During the press conference, Daniil Medvedev was asked if winning the US Open had changed his perspective on life, given that he is now a Grand Slam champion.
Medvedev responded in the negative before going on to point out that all he has done is accomplish a long-term goal of his.
"To be honest, not so much," Medvedev said. "It's just a goal that I accomplished that not so many players managed to do. That's great because I was dreaming about it since I was young. I was dreaming about it even more after my two finals."
The Russian had previously fallen short in two Grand Slam finals, to Rafael Nadal at the 2019 US Open and then to Novak Djokovic at the 2021 Australian Open.