"The thing is that you always want to talk about it after the match" - Daniil Medvedev sympathizes with Holger Rune over US Open court allotment drama

Daniil Medvedev sympathizes with Holger Rune when it comes to the Dane's dissatisfaction about his court allotment at the ongoing US Open. At the same time, the Russian believes that Rune would have been better served by talking about it after the match rather than before.

Rune, seeded No. 4 at Flushing Meadows this year, took on Roberto Carballes Baena in his opener. Despite being a top-4 seed, he was made to play on Court 5, something he did not take kindly to.

The 20-year-old took to social media to throw some shade at the organizers, only to suffer a loss in the first round. Rune went down in four sets against Carballes Baena, following which he once again shared his dissatisfaction about the matter.

"I mean, as best as you get in the ranking, it's more, you know, how you say, benefits you should get with playing in better conditions. So I think that's a normal way, and it's also how ATP, like, it's how they do with all the players. But they didn't do it with me here," Rune said.

Touching on the controversy at his press conference after his straight-sets win over Attila Balazs, Daniil Medvedev remarked that he understood both sides of the argument, from Rune as well as the organizers.

Apart from his sympathy for the Dane, Medvedev expressed his belief that Holger Rune will automatically get put on the bigger courts if he keeps playing the way he does, urging him to keep his chin up and move on.

"It's, I mean, I can understand his frustration. I can understand why the tournament put him there. The thing is that you always want to, even if it happens to you, you always probably want to talk about it after the match, because especially if you win, because then it's a little bit easier to kind of push your way through, let's say," Daniil Medvedev said.

"But, you know, if he continues the way he's playing right now, soon he's going to only play on big courts. So, yeah, Holger, again, if Holger stays where he is, plays as good as he does, he's going to play more on the bigger courts," Medvedev added.

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Daniil Medvedev takes on Christopher O'Connell in US Open second round

Daniil Medvedev, US Open Tennis

Following his win over Attila Balazs, Medvedev will take on Christopher O'Connell in the second round of the 2023 US Open. The duo have met twice on tour before, with Medvedev winning both their encounters.

Their most recent clash came in Doha earlier this year, where the Russian was stretched to three sets. Medvedev expects their clash in New York to be just as close:

"He's a very strong player. I think this year, I don't know if it's his best year of his career, but I feel like he had better wins maybe, especially in terms of ranking, than he had before.

"I feel like he's more consistent. Yeah, the match in Doha, he played very well against me. It was very, I felt like, high-quality match. So I'm expecting not less than that."