"I want them to go 7 hours 30, tiebreak 30-28 in fifth" - Daniil Medvedev on facing Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in potential Australian Open final

Daniil Medvedev has stated that it's difficult to pick between Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner as a potential opponent if he makes it to the 2024 Australian Open final.

On Wednesday, January 24, Medvedev defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Major. The Russian has now made the semifinals at three consecutive Grand Slams; he reached the last four at the Wimbledon Championships and had a runner-up finish at the US Open last year.

At the Australian Open, one semifinal will see Djokovic lock horns with Sinner, while Medvedev will take on either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev in the other.

At his press conference after the win against Hurkacz, Medvedev was asked if he would prefer to face Djokovic or Sinner in the final. The Russian replied that it was difficult to pick between the two.

He explained that while Djokovic's dominance Down Under is well-documented, Sinner is a player who doesn't give up even when the chips are down.

"Jannik is playing so good now, so if I'm 100% honest with you, if you ask me who -- let's say I'm in the final -- who do I want to play, Novak, who never lost here, whatever, is going for some crazy stats, or Jannik who is not losing a set even when he's 5-1 down in the tiebreak and stuff like this, I'm like, I don't know," Daniil Medvedev said.

"I really don't know. I want them to go 7 hours 30, tiebreak 30-28 in the fifth, and then maybe let's see if they are a little bit tired on Sunday," he added.

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"A little surprise here and there" - Daniil Medvedev on not staying deep to return serve

Daniil Medvedev at the 2024 Australian Open.

After his fourth-round win against Nuno Borges, Daniil Medvedev gave fans a quick masterclass on how to return serve during his post-match chat with Jim Courier.

When asked about his trademark deep return position on the court, Medvedev said that he got better at returning against most opponents when he stood far behind the baseline.

"I understood that I can actually play many guys like this… I just understood that’s where my return is the best, and I just started playing better," he said.

Against Hubert Hurkacz, however, Medvedev stayed much closer to the baseline than he had demonstrated a few days ago. The Russian explained that he had that strategy in mind even before his chat with Courier.

"In my mind I knew that against Hubert, amazing serve-and-volley... His ball, he's probably the only one where the ball, even if I stay really far back, it continues to go up, it never really goes down. So it doesn't really work to stay there," Medvedev said in his on-court interview.

"So talking to Jim, talking in the press conference, I was like, 'I know next match I'm going to stay close, but I'm not going to tell it you right now!' So a little surprise here and there, and I'm happy that it kind of worked," he added.