Exclusive: Daniil Medvedev wary of Taylor Fritz but says home advantage in Berlin will help Team Europe at Laver Cup
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Updated 16/02/2024 at 13:05 GMT
The Laver Cup is set to be one of the unmissable events of the 2024 tennis season, with Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Sascha Zverev already named on the Team Europe squad. Medvedev, speaking to Eurosport, says he is looking forward once more to this "rivals become friends" atmosphere, as he ran the rule over some potential Team World opponents.
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Daniil Medvedev says Taylor Fritz is the toughest opponent he could face at the 2024 Laver Cup, as - speaking exclusively to Eurosport - he looked ahead to the chances of Team Europe winning back the trophy for the first time in three years in Berlin.
Medvedev was on Team Europe for their last victory in 2021 in Boston - coming into it fresh from his first major title at the US Open - brushing aside Denis Shapovalov in his only singles rubber of the event.
Since then, however, Team World have embarked on a period of dominance, taking the two ensuing editions in London and Vancouver.
Although their captain John McEnroe is yet to start naming his team, Fritz is expected to be on the roster, especially as he currently sits the highest of any Team World player at No. 9 in the ATP rankings.
Speaking to Eurosport, Medvedev said: "I think what is good is that we're playing in Berlin, if we were playing in Washington or New York or somewhere, I would say guys like Frances [Tiafoe], Tommy [Paul], Ben Shelton, when they are playing in the US they're extremely dangerous in front of their home crowd, that's what we saw last year in Canada [when Team World won 13-2].
"I'm someone who, in a way, goes by the rankings.
"I always said that for me Taylor has a great all-round game, it's tough to play him.
"He has a great serve, great strokes, he's defending better than people think. For the moment sometimes in later stages of Grand Slams, as we saw with Novak [Djokovic, at the Australian Open], maybe here and there at the end of the set he can give [away] some points.
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"But in my opinion, he would be the toughest player at the moment."
The last time Medvedev appeared in the blue of Europe in 2021 seems like a different era, with players still donning masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner far away from the status they now enjoy near the very top of the game.
Medvedev has also become a father since then, and he reflected on the on- and off-court changes he has experienced in the intervening period.
He said: "If we talk about players, there are so many young guys that came in, especially Carlos, Jannik and Holger [Rune].
"At the time, Carlos just made a big run at the US Open, Jannik was already playing well but they were not at the level they are right now.
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"For sure everything has changed, I have changed. I've had so many ups and downs since then.
"But what I remember is a great tournament, great team atmosphere, which is rare in tennis, usually we're all individual players thinking about just ourselves and not the team.
"And it was a lot of fun, so I'm looking forward to having this fun again and trying to win, because that stays the most important."
Revealing what he thought of the tournament before he made his debut in Boston, Medvedev added: "I saw guys, my fellow tennis players, really into it, celebrating every point, trying to help each other.
"And I was looking at it and I was honestly like, 'is it a little bit exaggerated or not?' So I was like, 'OK I come there and I see for myself'.
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"And when I came there, straightaway, the first practice, the team environment, you're like 'wow, I actually want to win'.
"That's how it is in every match, so that was a standout memory, that's why we won 14-1 because every player that was there on the court, doubles, singles just wanted to win.
"My singles match against Denis, I was on fire at the time so I managed to win for the team, it was a great feeling because you're actually in a way maybe even tighter, because you have those five other top guys looking at you and you're like 'wow, I really don't want to screw it up in front of them'.
"It's a special feeling, so the standout memory was this team environment where rivals become friends, it's pretty fun actually."
One of the fascinating dynamics of the Laver Cup is how much players learn about, or from, other players - who are their biggest rivals the rest of the year - by being in such close proximity over a number of days.
Medvedev, elaborating on this, said: "It's actually a funny question because I honestly didn't [try to gain any edge] when I was in Boston. I was not looking at someone at dinner and [thinking] 'he has a match tomorrow, is he nervous?'
"First of all we do know each other pretty well. Some of the guys I played in juniors, some of the guys I'm on tour with for already like seven years.
"I don't think I will ever try to pick on someone when they're playing for Team Europe, like 'ah ok, he missed his forehand on 30-30, that's what I should do'. But I don't know if other guys do it.
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Daniil Medvedev of Team Europe is congratulated by Team Europe Captain Björn Borg after his match against Denis Shapovalov of Team World during the seventh match during Day 2 of the 2021 Laver Cup at TD Garden on September 25, 2021 in Boston, Massachuset
Image credit: Getty Images
"Tennis is a game where every day is such a different day, every surface is different, balls, conditions. I don't think you can gain much.
"So what I was doing was enjoying the environment and having fun with the team and I think that's what I'm going to do. When I'm not on the court, I keep my job away."
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