Melbourne: Daniil Medvedev on Friday insisted that the World Number one Novak Djokovic is the 'favourite' as he prepares to face him in the Australian Open Grand Slam final on Sunday at Melbourne Park.
"I think he's the favourite because he didn't lose. In eight occasions that he was here in the semis he won the tournament. Me, I'm, how you can call it, I don't know how you call it in English, not an outsider, but I'm the challenger, the guy that challenge the guy who was eight times in the final and won eight times and I'm happy about it," Medvedev said.
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The number four seed further said that he enjoys playing against the Serbian as he is among one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
"I like to play against Novak. We have, since the first one when I was ranked 60, we had always tough matches physically, mentally and he's one of the greatest tennis players in the history of tennis. So playing final against him is superb. I'm really happy about it. Let's see what happens on Sunday," Medvedev added.
Medvedev on Friday extended his winning streak to 20 matches by beating Stefanos Tsitispas 6-4 6-2 7-5 in the semi-final on Friday to set up what promises to be an epic match with the eight-times champion Djokovic.
The Russian star also insisted that he is aware of the Serbian's weakness.
"When Novak says he's not gonna hand anything to somebody, I believe him. I'm not gonna say I don't trust him. I trust him. So I know that to beat him you need to just show your best tennis, be at your best physically maybe four or five hours, and be at your best mentally maybe for five hours. Never know how the match is going to go. I would say to win a slam, especially against somebody as Novak, is already a big motivation, and I don't think there is anything that can make it bigger. I like Novak. I appreciate him as a tennis player. And I should say as a person."
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Medvedev has reached his fourth consecutive final after winning titles in Paris, London – where he beat Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals – and then the ATP Cup but the Russian admits he will need to be at his peak both mentally and physically to beat the top seed.
