"This stage of my career, every match is a golden opportunity" - Novak Djokovic on why he kept going against Daniil Medvedev in ATP Finals dead rubber
Novak Djokovic has said that he savors every win against the top players after downing Daniil Medvedev in a third-set tiebreak at the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin on Friday.
In one of the matches of the season, the Serb recovered from the loss of the second set in a tiebreak to hand Medvedev his third straight third-set tiebreak defeat at the tournament. The match was essentially a dead rubber, as Djokovic had already won the group, while Medvedev was out of semifinal contention after losing his first two matches.
Nevertheless, the two players dished out an instant thriller. After Djokovic grabbed the opening set, Medvedev made good on his fourth set point to level proceedings. In a competitive third set, Djokovic recovered from a break down to register his 40th win of the season.
WHAT A MATCH! 🔥
@DjokerNole defeats Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-7 7-6 in 3 hours and 11 minutes at the #NittoATPFinals https://t.co/Eh1tULFeoW
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic said that the low-stakes nature of the clash didn't diminish both players' winning mentality.
"We always want to win against each other regardless of where we play each against other.", said Djokovic. "I think the match today was a showcase of those mentalities that we both possess. ... My mentality is to win every match that I play in the present moment. Again, this stage of my career, every match like this is a golden opportunity for me to grab a win against one of the top guys of the world."
The Serb is now the only undefeated player in Turin this week after Casper Ruud lost to Rafael Nadal last night.
"I needed to change things up" - Novak Djokovic on his gameplan when Daniil Medvedev served for the match
Novak Djokovic faced his toughest test of the week but came out trumps. However, he had to bring out his legendary never-say-die spirit to the fore, as Medvedev served for the match at 5-4 in the third.
Explaining his mentality going into the game, Djokovic admitted that he had to "change things up," which eventually yielded rich dividends.
Group! 3-0 in 🔴 Group!
@DjokerNole | #NittoATPFinals https://t.co/4ehM6XfiRp
"I needed to change things up, I needed to shorten up the points. He really challenged me in every way. I'm just very happy that I overcome that challenge. What did I tell myself? I mean, in those moments I just try to get an extra breath of air, and I guess have a specific approach to every single point without really trying to think what was or what will be, which is much easier said than done. But it worked."
Djokovic further added that he read Medvedev's serve well in that game, and that the Russian got tight, which helped.
"I anticipated, I read his serve that game pretty well," said the Serb. "Made most of first serves, but I managed to read him well and just played some really good points. He made a double-fault, I think, as well in that game. Of course, he was tight because you got to close out the match, which is never easy."
Novak Djokovic will now play Taylor Fritz on Saturday for a place in the final.