US OPEN

September 10, 2021

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/F. Auger-Aliassime

6-4, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on the match.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, tough match. Especially second set was crucial. I mean, second set defined the match because I was really close to lose it. Many times you're going to lose a break against such an opponent as Felix, he had set points on his serve, you're going to lose a set. We can never know now how the match would go. Could be completely different story, being one set all, would be the first time for me in the tournament.

I'm happy I managed to save this game, doing one great point and second one making him play the volley. Then it turned the match around. I think he started doubting. For sure it stayed in his mind this game, so he started missing. I started putting more pressure. The match turned around. That was the key point.

I'm really happy that I managed to stay consistent and strong throughout the match, especially on my serve.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. From the outside it appears to have been a pretty smooth path back to the finals for you. Do you agree with that? How do you think the fact that you've had not too many sets lost, only one, might help you Sunday?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, in a way it was definitely smooth. You know how Grand Slams are: even if you get to the final without losing a set, all the matches going to be tough in their own way.

There were some tight moments. There were some tight battles. Against Botic I won 7-5 in the fourth, which is not that much of a margin.

It's never easy, but I'm happy that I managed to save a lot of physical abilities, physical power, and mental power. For sure, I mean, I don't think anybody is capable of winning slam after playing, let's say, first three rounds five sets. I doubt this ever happened. So this is important.

I'm really happy I managed to make it kind of fast.

Q. Can you compare the experiences of getting to the final this year as opposed to two years ago? How you feel entering this final as opposed to how you did a couple years ago?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, two years ago was completely different tournament. First of all, the story with the fans. This year kind of didn't have anything. It was just smooth also (smiling).

It made it crazy, this 2019, and actually before the story with the fans, I was cramping, couldn't almost walk in my second-round match. I managed to win it, almost couldn't walk. There were some crazy matches, some crazy turnarounds. I remember playing against Wawrinka, I tore my quadriceps. We did an echo after, and there was a one-centimeter tear. I managed to win the match. I had two days off, so I managed to heal it. It was unbelievable stories all around.

This year I didn't have the stories, and that's a good thing. I have the experience of two finals of slams that can help me. Doesn't mean it will, but can help me. The only thing I can say is all what I have left, I'm going to throw it out on Sunday.

Q. What do you think you learned from your match against Novak in Australia that might help you make it more competitive?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Definitely tactically, because he was playing different than the matches he did before me, and I was kind of not ready for it. So now I am.

I think, yeah, if it's going to be him, it's going to be more interesting in terms of tactic what I'm going to prepare. I think the thing that I understand, I always give my best, but I feel like I didn't leave my heart on the court in Melbourne. Even if of course I wanted to, there was something not turning up this match.

That's what I'm going to try to do on Arthur Ashe with hopefully 100% of fans. No matter the score, I'm just going to turn up the heat, if I can say, and try to do my best, even more than what I did in Melbourne.

Q. If you do play Novak, the Grand Slam will be at stake. Is that something you would enjoy, breaking up that party?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think from my side, of course I'm probably, if I can make this, I'm probably be in the history books a little bit somewhere like not letting him do this. But I don't really care about it. I think it's more about him, that it affects him.

From one side, for sure he's going to feel the pressure a little bit about it, already today. From the other side, that what going to make him be even better in tough moments.

I don't know, let's say, maybe he's going to be losing two sets to one or zero and have a break. Maybe some other slam, some other time, he would not -- you know, he always gives his best also, but he would not throw something up. Here we know that he will do everything to try to make it happen.

So, yeah, let's see how Sascha copes up with it. I'm going to watch the match to try to see how the match is going to go, the energy. That's interesting.

Again, about me, I'm just going to throw it everything, and I'm definitely not going to be thinking about Grand Slam or whatever.

Q. With this being your third major final, how are your expectations different? How do you approach this differently than you have the last two?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, for me experience is a key. Coming first one, again, crazy story, crazy tournament, playing against Rafa. I want to win everything I play, but I was kind of the underdog. Let's be honest, I was already happy being in the final. It was first great breakthrough. I just won a Masters, which was already huge. I was in the final. So everything was a positive, which helped me to play good. I was not feeling like it's a must to win.

Of course, again, if I play Novak, he has 20 slams, going for the Golden Slam, it's not a must, but I want to do it even more. That's normal. The more you lose something, the more you want to win it, the more you want to gain it and take it.

I lost two finals. I want to win the third one. That's tennis, we have two players, only one going to win. You never know what's going to happen, but I'm going to try more than I did the first two times.

Q. If it is Sascha in the final, what are your thoughts going into that one?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think it's going to be great because we both don't have a slam, so one of us is going to have it.

The energy is going to be completely different than playing against Novak. Again, Sascha comes out tonight, I come out tomorrow. Even if we don't think about it, but there is a talk to stop Novak from getting his slam, it's still Novak, so it's a different energy when you step on the court.

If we're going to play with Sascha, he's definitely in a little bit of a hot streak. I didn't play that bad either last four weeks, so I think it's going to be a battle. We're same generation. We played each other in juniors. I managed to get my edge in two finals we played. It's never going to be the same if we play ten finals.

I'm going to try, again, to throw everything, to leave everything, to try to beat him on Sunday.