"If Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have a slip in the Majors, Daniil Medvedev will win another one for sure" - Chris Evert's ex-husband John Lloyd
Chris Evert's ex-husband John Lloyd has said that Daniil Medvedev could win another Grand Slam if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both suffered a slip-up.
Medvedev's sole Grand Slam triumph came in 2021 when he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the US Open. The Russian has also reached five other Major finals, but has had to settle for the runner-up trophy on each of those occasions.
Rafael Nadal defeated him in the finals of the 2019 US Open and 2022 Australian Open while Novak Djokovic got the better of him in the finals of the 2021 Australian Open and 2023 US Open. Most recently, Daniil Medvedev fell to Jannik Sinner in the final of this year's Australian Open.
John Lloyd, a former player himself, and Chris Evert's ex-husband, recently spoke about his fondness for Medvedev's game. The 69-year-old said that the Russian was often forgotten amid the hype surrounding Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
"Yes he (Medvedev) does (go deep in most tournaments) and we've raved about, I have and certainly you have as well, Alcaraz and Sinner and we forget about Medvedev. You can't forget about him. I like watching him too. He's a strange-looking player," Lloyd said on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast (26:25).
He's got a funky out there, but there's something about him that.. he's not pretty to watch in so many ways but somehow, to me, he's attractive to watch," he added.
The Brit went on to talk about Medvedev's unorthodox return-of-serve position way behind the baseline. The 69-year-old also predicted that the Russian is bound to win another Grand Slam title if Alcaraz and Sinner suffered a setback early on.
"I like the different things he does in the game, and I love it when he stands far enough back where he could sit in the lap of someone in the stands, and he still gets the job done there," Lloyd said.
He's his own player, and it's like, he just goes about the way sort of quietly and no one really talks much about him. He's a hell of a player. If those guys have a slip probably in the Majors, then he'll win another one for sure," he added.
"It might be tough to get a title on clay" - Daniil Medvedev
Following his Miami Open semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev talked about the upcoming clay season. In the past, the Russian has expressed his dislike for clay courts on multiple occasions.
This time around, Medvedev said that it could be difficult for him to win a title on clay as he will be focusing on the most prestigious tournaments on the surface.
"On clay I'm going to play Monte-Carlo, Rome, Madrid and Roland Garros. It might be tough to get a title there, but if I would play 10 (ATP) 250s a year, I'd probably get some titles. Never be too confident, but I'm sure I would be able to. But I'm trying to play the best tournaments in the world," Daniil Medvedev said during a press conference (via ATPTour.com).
The World No. 4 won the first clay court title of his career last year at the Italian Open after beating Holger Rune in the final.