‘His level of tennis is insane’ – Daniil Medvedev on ‘ridiculous’ Carlos Alcaraz and being world No. 1

Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud in the final with the world No. 1 on the line and played three consecutive five-set matches on his way to becoming champion.

“He’s the youngest world No. 1 ever, and it says a lot because we had quite a few great champions in tennis’ history,” said Medvedev.

“What he’s done since the beginning of his career is just completely insane. It’s ridiculous. The guy is 19. His tennis level is insane and he knows it.

“During the summer, it seemed he was a little bit in trouble. Lost some matches against [Cameron] Norrie or [Tommy] Paul, he had some tough moments.

“But then in Flushing Meadows, I mean, the guy plays five-set matches, finishes at 3am, recovers, wins the trophy and becomes No. 1.

“Congrats to Carlos. I like him a lot. Nice guy, we often speak together. I did not have the opportunity to congratulate him in person but I will do it soon.”

Medvedev became world No. 1 for the first time earlier this year, ending the run of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who had held the top spot in the ATP rankings since 2004.

He has dropped to fourth in the world following his defeat to Nick Kyrgios and opened up on how Alcaraz might be feeling about being the player to beat.

“Being world No. 1, it was a dream, more than an ambition,” explained Medvedev. “Until I was 22 or 23, I never thought about the No. 1 spot.

“I saw those guys, Roger, Rafa, Novak, and told myself, ‘This is not for me’. When you reach the top five, then you start thinking of it and, of course, when I won my first Grand Slam in New York, I was not so far from Novak.

“I was closing the gap so it became a real possibility and a goal to reach. Being No. 1 is like winning a Grand Slam. It’s something you’ve done, and nobody can take it away from you.

“I won the US Open, the trophy is in my house, and it will remain there forever, except if someone steals it!

“Same thing for No. 1. I managed to do it and it’s a reality forever. But once you did that, you constantly have to put this behind you and start thinking about what’s next. Everything goes so fast in tennis.”

– – –