World No.1 Daniil Medvedev believes all the attention focused on Serena Williams at the US Open is positive for one of his rivals challenging him for the title.
It is speculated that this year’s Grand Slam could be the last Williams plays before retiring from the sport. In an article written for Vogue magazine earlier this year, the 40-year-old said she is starting to ‘evolve’ away from tennis but has been coy about her exact retirement plans. Williams played her second round match on Tuesday where she stunned second seed Anett Kontaveit in three sets. Among the thousands of people watching her was Medvedev.
“Here it’s New York, it’s Serena, icon, queen. I think you can say like 35 words in 10 seconds, you can find amazing words to describe her. This makes it even more special.” Medvedev said following his straight sets win over Arthur Rinderknech.
“Every point you know what’s happening. If it’s silent, the point is to the other girl. If it goes boom, then Serena won the point. It was easy to know the score every time. It’s just amazing. I’m not sure I saw anything like this before.” He added.
With the limelight being on Williams, Medvedev believes it is also a boost for Rafael Nadal who is seeking to win a historic 23rd major title in New York. The Spaniard is playing in the tournament for the first time since 2019 after missing the previous two editions due to the covid-19 pandemic and a foot injury.
“It’s completely her tournament, in my opinion.” He said. “That’s great. We have Rafa playing here with 22 slams and at this moment it feels like it’s not all the attention on him, which I think it’s great for him that he plays the other nights. He gets all the attention on the other days.”
Undoubtedly the interest has also taken the pressure off the Russian slightly who is seeking to become the first man since Roger Federer to defend a US Open title. He played his second round match straight after Williams on the premier Arthur Ashe stadium. Battling his way to a 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, win over world No.58 Rinderknech without dropping serve.
“I was not super happy with my level. At the same time, it’s sometimes really tough to play at night. All day waiting. I usually like it, but a little bit tricky in the beginning.” Medvedev said of his latest performance.
In the next round, the top seed will play China’s Wu Yibing who continues to make history at the tournament. Earlier this week Yibing became the first man from his country to win a Grand Slam match in 63 years. The 2017 US Open boys champion defeated Nuno Borges 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, to become the first Chinese man to reach the third round of the tournament.
