Rafael Nadal still expected to be a ‘great challenge’ upon injury comeback, says Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev has argued playing Rafael Nadal next season will still be a “great challenge”.

The world No. 3, who is playing at the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, spoke to The National about his expectations for 2024.

Medvedev discussed the return of 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, who will compete at the Brisbane International next month after nearly a year away from the court with injury struggles.

The 37-year-old is undoubtedly coming towards the end of his career, but Medvedev admitted he was still a daunting prospect.

“It’s very tough to beat him,” Medvedev said. “Actually with Rafa maybe I even had even less success than with Novak [Djokovic] in a way.

“But we had some tight matches where I felt like I could win and maybe he got the edge in the end. So for me it’s going to be a great challenge if I have to face him.

“I don’t know at the moment his shape, no one knows, and how he’s going to handle. But from what I saw, he seems to be doing good and that’s great for tennis.”

Medvedev earned five ATP titles during 2023, but failed to win a second career Grand Slam. He came closest at the US Open, losing to Djokovic in the US Open final.

Carlos was the only other Grand Slam champion last season, while Medvedev and world No. 4 Jannik Sinner were considered the best of the rest.

“For sure, if we take last year and many, many different tournaments, we did separate a little bit from the rest at one point of the season and especially at the end, regarding the points,” said Medvedev.

“But I do think that this also shows that every season can be different. Stefanos [Tsitsipas] made a final in the Australian Open; for different reasons had a tougher end of the season, but he can come back there and pass me, Sinner or Carlos or Novak, anyone.

“So I would be still careful with something like this. I myself was out of top 10 last year, in the beginning of the season.

“The only thing we’re sure is Novak is always there. I could be out of 10, Novak is always there.

“So hopefully I can be part of this top four and whoever the other three guys and I’m going to try to do it.”

Even at 27-years-old, Medvedev is hopeful of continuing to improve next season.

“Getting older, you know, I’m not any more 23 and going for my first big title and I’m like, ‘OK, I want to do more’,” he said.

“So at this stage of my life, at least right now, I hope this can last for a long time. I have just the biggest motivation ever to just continue finding my limits, to just go for more. Try to be even more professional, try to fight harder, be better on the court.

“Because at the end of the season, I was a little bit too much all over the place because I was mentally tired. So I’m going to try to do all of this better next year and hopefully I can become a better player.”