Medvedev fires Alcaraz US Open warning, vows to give Djokovic 'hard time'

With the US Open 2023 starting on 28 August, all eyes will be on Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Djokovic, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon 2023 final, will be aiming to win his fourth US Open title, which will also see him equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams, which is also the most by any player.

Djokovic's main opponent will be defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. After the Wimbledon final, three-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz lost to Djokovic in the Cincinnati Masters final last week.

Russian star Daniil Medvedev feels that he could challenge Djokovic for the US Open title, and his game matches the Serb's style. The Serb also placed him above Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"Two years ago I managed to play definitely one of, if not the best, match of my life. I want to try to do it again. He's other part of the draw", said Medvedev.

"Him being back is great. I always said I want him to play every tournament, especially even if at the moment he seems super young, there's going to be one moment, we don't know when, 45 years old, 40 years old, he's going to stop. I think that's the reality. I don't think he's going to go more than 45 years old or something.

"So before he stops, it's great to see him play in every tournament. Out of let's say out of the big three, I played Roger, I was not the same as I am right now, my game matches Novak's the best. He's still probably the greatest of all time. It's great that I can give him hard time," he further added.

Medvedev also explained that it's normal for tennis fans to only talk about Djokovic and Alcaraz. Despite the talk, he feels that he can win the title. "I think that's normal we talk about them. I do think we still talk about me. I'm not feeling too bad, but I'm going to try. The goal is after this US Open, that we talk about me, so I'm going to try to do it. I just try to win. That's the most important. But unconsciously, I feel like many times I was playing good in this role. Hopefully it can help me these two weeks", he said.

"I think it's great for tennis that we have these two guys playing against each other right now. As I say, it's a great story, but then the tournament starts and hopefully we can — when I say 'we' [I mean] me personally or someone else — we're going to try to beat them and stop them from playing each other," he concluded.

For his first-round match, Medvedev will face Hungary's Attila Balazs on Tuesday, and will be aiming to bag a win. Meanwhile, Djokovic will take on Alexandre Muller in his first round fixture, on the same day as Medvedev. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign against Germany's Dominik Koepfer on Wednesday.