Medvedev has words for Djokovic ‘haters’ after Serb beats him in Paris

Daniil Medvedev said Novak Djokovic’s remarkable achievements will be appreciated more in years to come as the Russian heaped praise on the Serbian world number one after their Paris Masters final.

Djokovic sealed a sixth Masters title in the French capital on Sunday by seeing off defending champion Medvedev in a comeback victory, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Djokovic gained revenge for his US Open final defeat to Medvedev in September, in the process ensuring he ends the year on top of the ATP rankings for a record seventh time.

The Serb, 34, also clinched a record 37th Masters crown in total – moving him one ahead of Rafael Nadal on the all-time list.

Despite a strong claim to be the greatest ever to lift up a racquet, Djokovic is widely seen as less popular than fellow greats Nadal and Roger Federer – with all three tied at 20 Grand Slams.

Medvedev, 25, addressed that when asked on Sunday.

“I have the feeling though that people start more and more to, let’s say, I don’t even say respect him, but respect what he's done in tennis more and more, because he continues to beat the records,” said the Russian world number two of Djokovic.

“I feel like unless real haters, which are not real fans, people start to see what he’s done and to see that he’s able to do more, which we can never know, that’s why we like tennis, but which he can do more."

Medvedev added: “I think that 10 years after he retires, because there will start to be people who will start watching tennis – just like me, I didn’t see [Pete] Sampras play, I was too young, but I heard he was amazing – it’s going to be the same [with Djokovic].

“There are going to be new people coming to tennis who are just going to read in Wikipedia or whatever what were the results, who was the world number one for most weeks, for most times in the end, and they are going to see Novak everywhere.

“That’s when people are going to start to understand, ‘OK, that’s amazing what he has done.’”

Medvedev and Djokovic have both faced scrutiny in recent weeks for refusing to reveal their Covid-19 vaccination status ahead of the Australian Open in January.

The Russian has defended Djokovic after adopting the same tight-lipped stance, asserting that players’ should have the right to keep their medical records private.