I am not scared of the Big Three

Spiky Russian to challenge legends

IT remains one of sport’s most extraordinary statistics: since 2005 only four men have shared tennis’ world No1 and No2 ranking.

Empires have risen and fallen in shorter order than the time it has taken for someone to come along and threaten the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

The arrival of Daniil Medvedev has therefore been greeted with great excitement. It helps that he comes with a reputation for abrasive behaviour, one who reached this year’s US Open final after giving the finger to the crowd en route. The 23-year-old from Moscow is the world No4 and has emerged as the man most likely to break up the holy trinity.

Medvedev ended up charming the New York crowd with his open post-match interviews. These revealed a different side to his boorish tendencies, which previously included the incident at Wimbledon 2017 when he tossed coins at the umpire’s chair after an acrimonious defeat.

Dare one say it but there can be a slightly refreshing element to this after the years of corporate bonhomie between Federer, Nadal and company.

Medvedev ought to be a gingering presence when he makes his debut this week at the ATP Finals in London, qualifying among the top eight after reaching six finals in seven tournaments since Wimbledon. Talking to him in the player lounge at the Paris Masters last week, it became clear that he does not lack intelligence.

Before taking off to France at 15, to be coached full time, he attended a much sought after academy in Moscow that was nothing to do with tennis. ‘It’s a special school for mathematics and physics, it’s very tough to get into,’ he says. ‘I’m no good at that stuff now but I was at the time. You have to pass quite a difficult test. There are thousands trying to get in every year and they only let in maybe 50.’

Medvedev’s game marries machine-like baseline consistency with a potent serve and extreme mobility for one 6ft 6in tall.

It also comes with a perpetual struggle to maintain self-control. ‘Sometimes I can be emotional and you make mistakes that you regret,’ he says. ‘At least I think I have the strength to admit that I’m wrong sometimes.

‘I want to try and get better to grow. The US Open was a tough story, it came from hate to love in a matter of a few days. I will remember it all my life.’

Last Tuesday’s draw for the O2 Arena has placed him in the same group as world No6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who he has moved ahead in the race to challenge the Big Three. The pair have had a mutual animosity since they had to be physically separated by the umpire at the Miami Open last year.

‘Something happened during the match he didn’t like, which I still don’t know and, afterwards, he called me a bad word [a ‘bulls**t Russian’],’ he says. ‘As a Russian I will not let anyone say something bad about me on court. The relationship hasn’t improved.’

He describes his fellow players as ‘co-workers’ and admits his closest friends tend to be from his own country. ‘We hate to lose,’ he says. ‘In other countries, a father or mother play some games with the kids and allow them to win. That never happens in Russia.

‘We have some bad parts of our character like we aren’t good at controlling our emotions and I have that too. I’m working a lot on it.’ In

September last year, Medvedev married his girlfriend Daria. A journalism graduate now studying a Masters, he credits her with instilling in him a calmer outlook.

‘She was playing tennis until she was 17 or 18 and then had a lot of injuries and couldn’t reach the level she wanted to be. It’s really good because she understands tennis.

‘She knows we can’t go shopping before a match for example. She knows there are many days during tournaments when I’m busy from eight in the morning until the evening and maybe it’s not easy to understand this if you don’t know the game. She has helped me to grow up as a man and as a player.’

He disputes the received wisdom that younger players are guilty of giving the Big Three too much respect. ‘They are the best in history,’ he says. ‘It’s not because we are afraid. I’m not afraid.’