"Novak should invite me for dinner someday"- Daniil Medvedev after his victory takes Serbia through to Davis Cup QF
Russia's Daniil Medvedev defeated Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the final group stage tie of the 2021 Davis Cup. The 25-year-old's victory eliminated Spain from the competition, sending djokovic' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>djokovic' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>djokovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Novak Djokovic's Serbia into the last eight as one of the best second-placed teams.
Following the match, Medvedev joked that Novak Djokovic should buy him dinner someday for ensuring that his country went through to the quarterfinals. He revealed that some players from the Serbian contingent were sending the Russians good luck messages as well.
"Someday Novak will have to invite me to dinner for today," Medvedev was quoted as saying by Punto de Break. "It was funny because during the doubles match, some Serbian people, I'm not going to say who, they were sending us messages on their mobile phones, encouraging us to win."
"This format favors those kinds of situations and we only thought about winning the game, regardless of who we could leave out and who we couldn't," he added.
Serbia will take on Kazakhstan in the final eight.
Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic have developed an interesting rivalry over the past few years. The pair have emerged as the strongest hardcourt players on the men's tour at the moment and have played each other in three big finals this year.
Djokovic prevailed at the start of the year in straight sets at the Australian Open and in a tight three-set final at the Paris Masters. Medvedev, however, stopped the Serb's bid for a Calendar Slam by winning the US Open final in straight sets.
"We know we are the favorites": Daniil Medvedev
Following his victory, Daniil Medvedev spoke about the challenge facing the Russian team against Sweden in the quarterfinal. The reigning ATP Cup champions have a stacked team, with the likes of Andrey Rublev and Aslan Karatsev alongside the World No. 2.
Medvedev said he is feeling confident, and he knows Russia are the favorites, but he is weary of the potential of the Swedes.
"The confidence of the team has grown a lot by beating such a team as competitive as Spain, although they did not have their best players, they are at home and it means a lot to beat them," Daniil Medvedev said. "We are looking forward to the final crosses."
"We know we are favorites, but I have seen some games by the Swedes and they are performing at a high level. It will be difficult and we will have to give the best of ourselves," the World No. 2 added.
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