Tennis: Novak Djokovic Sees Daniil Medvedev As The 'Main Rival' Of The Big 3

With the Australian Open on its way, everyone knows that the trio of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the favorites to take home the prize. The three have monopolized the Grand Slams since Federer’s first title in 2003. Ever since Federer won Wimbledon against Mark Philippoussis, there have only been five out of 68 men’s singles finals that did not include the big three. They have also racked up 12 straight major championships and show no signs of slowing down.

Defending champion Djokovic is gunning for his eighth Australian Open title and is coming off a decorated 2019 campaign. He also kicked off the year on a strong note as he defeated Nadal last January 12 to claim the 2020 ATP Cup in Sydney. He won the title for Serbia by winning the match in two sets, 6-2, 7-6.

There’s no question that momentum is still on the side of the favorites. But despite the daunting task of dethroning the big three, there have been signs of promise with the younger generations. The ATP season saw multiple bright spots from stars such as 2019 Indian Wells winner Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas who recently won Nitto last November. With these up and coming players, the big three have their hands full in the coming years.

But if there’s one competitor to look out for, Djokovic says it’s the 2019 US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev, explaining that the world number four seed is the big three’s rival. “[Medvedev] played a close five-setter against Nadal at the US Open last year, coming back from two sets down in an impressive way and staying there for almost five hours.”

Djokovic also experienced the grit of the Russian in the recent ATP Cup semi-final; sneaking out a close three-set 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 win – making an early case for the match of the year. Although Medvedev has shown signs of brilliance, the tennis royalty of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are still determined to make history and continue their dominance in the sport.