"If at a point, my kids or wife say we want you to be home more, maybe I just play Slams" - Daniil Medvedev on emulating Novak Djokovic's longevity
The fact that Novak Djokovic continues to contest for the sport's most significant titles is not lost on Daniil Medvedev, one of the few active players to have beaten the Serb in a Grand Slam final.
Responding to a question about Djokovic's longevity during his Wimbledon semifinal press conference, Medvedev said it was possible for someone to be playing at 37 — the Serb's current age — but that there were a lot of variables in play.
Citing an example of a player wanting to have a personal life away from tennis, the Russian said if his family asked him to spend more time with them, he might consider playing only at Grand Slams to carve out the time.
"I think it's possible, but it definitely depends my body, and depends my family," Daniil Medvedev said. "If at one moment, imagine my family tells me, look, we want you, my children or my wife, we want you to be more at home, maybe I'm going to say, I'm going to just play Grand Slams."
The 27-year-old reiterated that playing late into one's 30s was not entirely up to the individual and that it depended on various other factors too, including fitness and injury troubles. He expressed hope that it is something he could accomplish when the time came.
"If it doesn't work out, you drop in the ranking and you finish your career," he continued. "It depends many things. You can get injured, get out of the top hundred, not be able to come back."
"But in general I would say I want to be like this, I want to say at 37 years old be playing at the best level of tennis possible," Daniil Medvedev said. "But it depends many, many different aspects. I'm going to try my best to be able to do it."
"I wanted to play against Novak Djokovic on Sunday" - Daniil Medvedev after Wimbledon semifinal loss
Daniil Medvedev lost his Wimbledon semifinal match to World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, going down 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 at Centre Court on Friday.
When asked how was dealing with the disappointment, Medvedev said that while he obviously wanted to play against Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final and lift the trophy, he was looking at the positives.
"I would say like this - how can we say it - if one would ask me, Are you happy with the semifinal? I'm like yes and no," Daniil Medvedev said. "For sure if I'm in the semifinal, I want to win it. I want to play against Novak Djokovic on Sunday. I want to try to hold the trophy."
The Russian said he was glad to have posted his best run at Wimbledon, especially since he does not always play his best on grass.
"But it's my best Wimbledon so far. Normally on grass I didn't feel amazing. These two weeks I felt great. I'm trying usually after the losses to find the positives. I was in four best players of the tournament," he added.