I have to be at my best-ever version to beat Novak Djokovic in the US Open final, says Daniil Medevev

"He (Djokovic) is always better than the previous time he plays. For example, I beat him in the U.S. Open final, he beat me in Bercy (Paris Masters) in a great match. Carlos beat him in Wimbledon, he beat him in Cincinnati. Novak is going to be his best version on Sunday, and I have to be the best-ever version of myself if I want to try to beat him," Medvedev told reporters.

Daniil Medvedev clinched a spot in the US Open final for the third time.How it sounded on US Open Radio 🎙️👇 pic.twitter.com/ySw7cTA1wH

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2023 

"Novak, when he loses, he's never the same after... It's just a different mentality... So, I have to use it knowing that he's going to be 10 times better than he was that day. And I have to be, if I want to still beat him, 10 times better than I was that day."

Medvedev, however, said he would stick to his pre-match routine before facing Djokovic. "I'm going to do all the same. It's just the mental preparation where... you want to fight till the end, you want to win, and that's how you should be in the final of a Grand Slam," he added.

Medvedev said the win against Alcaraz was a confidence boost but acknowledged that he would be "hell-disappointed" if he were to lose the final despite a successful run at New York. Medvedev had won the US Open in 2021 and he explained that the confidence that he is capable of replicating that feat again in the big stage gives him great confidence.

"You know you can do it again. You want to do it again. You want to feel this. And at the same time, what is most important is to kind of use it but forget about it and go for the next one."

(With inputs by Reuters)