“It’s a very great match… but I’m not going to watch it” – Medvedev on highly-anticipated Wimbledon final

The Russian went out to Carlos Alcaraz in a one-sided semi-final loss that still proves too painful for him to watch the final

Jamie Malachy

July 16, 2023

Following a chastening loss to 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in his first Wimbledon semi-final, Daniil Medvedev was his typically philosophical self.

Looking at the tournament as a whole, there were many positives for the 2021 US Open champion to take away from his most successful grass-court Grand Slam campaign.

However, such a one-sided loss in the last four of Wimbledon will leave its mental scars on even the most rational and reasoned of tennis players.

When asked in his post-match press conference whether or not he’d be watching the final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, it was evident that the pain of his semi-final loss to the young Spaniard remains raw.

“It’s a very great match. I’m not going to lie, it’s a very great match to watch, but I’m not going to watch it because I’m going to be too disappointed to not be there,” the Russian said.

“I lost. I don’t deserve to be there in the final because I didn’t win today.

“But if I watch it on TV, I’m probably going to digest my loss worse because I’m going to be like, ‘My God, this forehand, this double-fault, this return, I should have done better.’

“Let’s say Novak wins, ‘I should have done like Novak. Why didn’t I do it?’ Too many questions.”

Promising grass and clay runs, but Wimbledon final a stretch too far

Getting to the semi-finals of Wimbledon was Medvedev’s best finish in tennis’ grass-court Grand Slam, and for much of the time he looked as comfortable on the grass as he does on his favoured hard courts.

This came hot on the heels of a career-best clay-court season for Medvedev, winning the Italian Open on a surface that he has previously made no secret of his disdain for.

While Medvedev is adamant that this Wimbledon final will be too tough for him to watch personally, the anticipation around SW19’s showpiece match has been building rapidly.

Whatever the outcome of the match, the hype around such an eagerly-anticipated clash will be difficult for Medvedev to avoid completely.

“I am going to follow live score probably. I’m going to be interested in the live score, but I’m not going to watch it.

“Maybe we’ll see the highlights or something in the news or something like this.”

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