Why Medvedev Says '10 Out of 10' May No Longer Be A Passing Grade To US Open Title

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Daniil Medvedev is always transparent about how he is feeling during a tournament. If the former World No. 1 is playing well, he will say so and if not, he never hesitates to admit it. After defeating Andrey Rublev on Wednesday to reach the US Open quarter-finals, Medvedev graded himself a 10 out of 10.

But with a potential semi-final showdown against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz looming — if the Spaniard eliminates Alexander Zverev — Medvedev knows that might not be good enough.

“It needs to be 11 out of 10 because that's how Carlos is, very strong,” Medvedev said. “Even here I think he lost one set but I watched some matches, sometimes on break points he runs for the passing shots. Incredible stuff.”

Medvedev has proven that at his best he can beat anyone in the world. That is why he was able to climb to the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, win a Grand Slam tournament at the 2021 US Open and claim six ATP Masters 1000 trophies. But will his best be enough if he takes on Alcaraz?

“I want to think that it's enough, because I'm playing amazing,” Medvedev said. “I said it on the court. I feel like starting from the third set against [Christopher] O’Connell, guys have been playing brutally good against me.”

The third seed explained how well Rublev and Alex de Minaur played to storm in front of him. But the former champion did not panic in either match and was rewarded with victories.

“That's what I'm really proud of. Sometimes it's not easy to come back in the matches, to stay there with the tough conditions. Andrey and Alex are probably some of the best physical guys on Tour, and I managed to make them suffer,” Medvedev said. “I suffered myself also, but I managed to make them suffer. All of this is good for the confidence. It’s good for next matches. If I compare myself to two years ago, I would say definitely not worse. It was enough two years ago. But to me, [I need] to continue this way, two more matches to go.”

If Medvedev faces Alcaraz next, he will have to overcome a 1-2 deficit in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. This year, the Spaniard has eased to two wins without losing more than three games in a set.

“I would say what makes him that difficult is just that he has every shot. He has extra power to other players. So it's true many players — probably I would go with 97 per cent — it's tough for them to hit the ball through me. I'm always there, always running, always trying to get it back,” Medvedev said. “He can do it just because he has this power. We see it, 100 mile per hour forehand winners and stuff like this. Some players, even if we try, we cannot do it.”

Medvedev added: “He has every shot in the game. But again, tennis, you can always beat players. People beat Novak. People even beat Rafa on clay, which is almost impossible, but some players do. It's the same about Carlos. Every time I will be playing against him I want to try to win.”

It is safe to say Medvedev will not dwell too much on those losses. He is happy with the way he is playing and keen to bring even better tennis to the court no matter the opponent Friday.

“I’m someone who fights a lot, so I want to try to be better,” Medvedev said. “I need to be 11 out of 10 to try to beat him.”