Daniil Medvedev sent an early message that this U.S. Open might be more than a two-man race between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The 2021 champion rolled into the second round Tuesday, beating Attila Bal zs 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 in just 1 hour, 14 minutes.
“That’s probably the fastest three-set match I played,” Medvedev said. About 12 hours after Djokovic won easily in his return to the U.S. Open, the No. 3-seeded Medvedev looked just as impressive as when he beat Djokovic for the 2021 title to deny the 23-time major champion from Serbia what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. Alcaraz edged Djokovic for the title at Wimbledon, after Djokovic eliminated the Spaniard in the semifinals en route to the French Open title.
“Of course we know that the biggest, let’s say, players right now are Carlos and Novak,” Medvedev said. “But, well, they have to win their matches also to meet me, if I’m there. Same works for me.” Medvedev certainly has the game to compete with either on the hard courts of the U.S. Open