Die ersten drei Auftritte bei den US Open 2026 hatten Daniil Medwedews Chancen auf einen tiefen Turnierlauf deutlich steigen lassen. Im Achtelfinale war für den russischen Tennisspieler jedoch Schluss: Gegen Lokalmatador Frances Tiafoe unterlag er mit 7:6(1), 6:4, 7:6(6) – getragen vom lautstarken Jubel des New Yorker Publikums.
Trotz der Enttäuschung über die verpasste Gelegenheit hob die ehemalige Nummer eins der Welt bei der Pressekonferenz die positiven Aspekte seiner US-Open-Kampagne hervor. Zugleich räumte Medwedew ein, unter seinen Möglichkeiten geblieben zu sein.
Der 30-jährige Russe suchte keine Ausreden für seine Niederlage: "Difficult match. I just didn't play well enough to win, that's all," erklärte Medwedew. " I think I should have played better in some moments of the match. I should have made better shots and made better decisions. In the important moments, he probably made a better decision or made a better shot, because in general I had my chances. I should have won the first set. I could have won the third. The second was easy for him, in a way.”
Medwedew alles andere als zufrieden
Auch die Unterstützung des amerikanischen Publikums änderte nichts am Ausgang der Partie. "I don't think the stadium has much to do with it. Sometimes there are statistics and then, three years later, those statistics disappear. I think at times I should have played better. I should have made better shots and made better decisions."
Die aktuelle Nummer acht der Welt betonte jedoch, wie sehr ihn seine unzureichende Leistung wurmte: "If I was happy with the fourth round, I had better stop playing tennis. I'm not happy with the result. I'm happy with the way I managed to turn the situation around. I played three good matches. But today was a disappointing match, a disappointing level. So I'm not satisfied at all, even if maybe it went a little better than I expected after the previous three American tournaments.”
Medwedew sprach zudem über die Bedeutung, Niederlagen zu akzeptieren: "I'm not sure if it's better as an athlete, as someone who wants to be number one in the world, but that's the way it is. With age, you just see so many defeats that this is just another one. Obviously I wanted to do better, but I didn't play well enough. That's why I'm out. On to the next one."