Novak Djokovic couldn't have faked his injury, we saw he was in pain: Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic will take on Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final on Sunday, looking to win his ninth title Down Under. And Medvedev recently spoke at length about Djokovic, even giving his thoughts on whether the Serb had 'faked' an injury earlier in the tournament.
Novak Djokovic suffered a much-talked-about abdominal injury against Taylor Fritz in the third round. The World No. 1 went on to win the match in five sets, but was subsequently accused by fans of having faked the ailment.
Djokovic later claimed he had suffered an 'abdominal tear', but showed little effects of any injury during his semifinal match against Aslan Karatsev. Still, Daniil Medvedev refused to question Djokovic's claims, pointing out there was no reason the Serb would've faked an injury after being two sets up.
"Yeah, for sure, some controversies," Daniil Medvedev replied when asked about the hullabaloo around Djokovic's injury. "Against Fritz, I went to sleep. I actually thought he was gonna lose because we saw he was in pain. He couldn't fake it to lose two sets. He was up."
"Novak Djokovic's matches against Zverev and Raonic were for sure not easy" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev added that Novak Djokovic's later-round matches against sixth seed Alexander Zverev and big-serving Milos Raonic were not easy given that he was physically compromised.
"Next matches were for sure not easy," Medvedev said. "Against Sascha I went to sleep when he was down a break in the fourth. So was some crazy matches."
During the interview, Daniil Medvedev was also asked whether he was keeping track of Novak Djokovic's matches at the 2021 Australian Open. The Russian replied that all of Djokovic's matches were pretty late, so he was not able to stay up and watch them in their entirety.
"I have seen a lot of matches from him because he plays in the evening and we are also in lockdown, so I was watching the television," Medvedev said. "Actually didn't finish I think three of his matches because he was playing too late and I went to sleep."
Daniil Medvedev, however, was able to watch Novak Djokovic's straight-sets win over Aslan Karatsev as it was scheduled in the day. The Russian praised the Djokovic's level and said he expected the Serb to be at his best in the championship match on Sunday.
"Yesterday he was on top of Aslan," Medvedev went on. "And he said that he felt the best. So, yeah, I don't expect anything easy in terms of his physical abilities on Sunday."