Medvedev provided a great answer when asked to share his thoughts on Djokovic on clay.
Daniil Medvedev paid a special tribute to both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal when asked how good of a player Djokovic is on clay as the Russian declared the Serb “an amazing clay courter” and also that he would likely had more titles on clay if not for absolute clay court king Nadal.
After losing in the Monte Carlo Masters semifinal to Casper Ruud and then skipping the Madrid Masters to get back to the drawing board and focus on practice, world No. 1 Djokovic is back in action this week at the Rome Masters. In Rome, Djokovic is a nine-time finalist but mainly because of Nadal, only has won three of those nine finals.
And before Djokovic’s opening match in Rome, Medvedev was asked to rate the Serb’s quality on clay. Medvedev then highlighted that Djokovic has had some outstanding results on clay throughout his career and that he would probably have more titles on the slowest tennis surface if not for Nadal. Medvedev then also showed some major respect for Nadal, saying that the Spaniard would probably also have more titles on hard and grass if not for Djokovic.
Medvedev: Djokovic is amazing on clay and probably would have more titles if not for Nadal
“Well, for sure. When we have Rafa in the same generation winning 14 Roland Garros, I don’t know, 10 Rome, I don’t even remember the exact number, it’s tough to find anyone close to his legacy on clay,” Medvedev said.
“But Novak, he’s amazing on all the surfaces. Maybe because of Rafa on clay, he has a bit less titles than he could have had. It works the same for Rafa. If there would not be Novak on the hard and grass, maybe Rafa would have more titles there.”
Despite Nadal’s clay court dominance, Djokovic has still managed to win three French Open titles and also has won every clay Masters tournament at least twice.
“He still wins three Roland Garros, I think Monte-Carlo two times, Rome maybe three or four. It’s amazing. That’s why Novak is definitely one of the best sportsmen in the world,” Medvedev added.