"That's what sometimes people don't know about Novak Djokovic" - Daniil Medvedev fondly recalls going on trip with Serb in his early days

Daniil Medvedev recently recalled hitch-hiking with Novak Djokovic to his maiden Davis Cup campaign with Russia.

Medvedev advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open after defeating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 6-3 at Margaret Court Arena on Saturday, January 20. He will face Portugal's Nuno Borges for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Following his win over Auger-Aliassime on Saturday, Medvedev went down memory lane while talking to the press at the Melbourne Major. One of the journalists brought an old photograph of him and Djokovic to the press room.

The photograph was taken in the year 2017 during Medvedev's Davis Cup debut for Russia. Interestingly, the debut came against the Serb but Medvedev unfortunately lost the match after retiring midway due to cramps.

The Russian recounted obliging to Djokovic's request for traveling together for the tournament.

"The story was unbelievable," he said. "We practiced with Novak, that was so funny. He was even like: 'Oh, we play Davis Cup in a couple of days.' I was like: 'Yeah. Are you going?' [He said] 'Yeah, I'm going. When are you going?' I was like: 'Saturday.'He was [like]: 'Do you want to go with me?'"

"Honestly, I feel like I'm a shy person. At first, I say: 'No, no, Federation already took tickets for me,' it was one stop, three hours away and something. In one hour when the practice finished, [I said]: 'Novak, really, I can come with you?' He was: 'Yeah.' I was: 'Okay, I will come.'"

Medvedev explained that his equation with the World No. 1 has remained unchanged over the years despite their on-court battles.

"I think that's what sometimes people don't know about Novak. He can be tough on the court, like I can be. He can be this and that. But me, since the first time I met him, I was 400 in the world. Now I'm 3 in the world. Was 1 in the world. I feel like he treats me like before," the World No. 3 added.

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Novak Djokovic leads head-to-head against Daniil Medvedev

Novak Djokovic hits a return against Daniil Medvedev

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev have so far played against each other 15 times, with the former leading the head-to-head 10-5. Their first duel came at the Davis Cup in 2017.

The Serb won two more battles before Medvedev registered his first success over him in 2019, earning a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win at the Monte Carlo Masters. A few months later, the duo came face-to-face at the Cincinnati Masters and Medvedev managed to prevail once again.

Both players most recently met in the final of the US Open 2023. The Serb defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to clinch the 24th Grand Slam of his career.