"Against Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, you need to be at your best" - Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev has admitted that his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz was because he was at his best.

On Friday, July 14, Medvedev took on Alcaraz in the second semifinal of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The Spaniard hit 27 winners and broke Medvedev's serve six times to register a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win in one hour and 49 minutes.

In his post-match press conference, Medvedev showered the World No. 1 with high praise, comparing him with the Big 3 of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.

"He's a very strong player. I would say in general to compare like the big three, they're amazing, they win so many Grand Slams, they win so many matches. He's kind of like them," he said.

"He's still 20. Already has one Grand Slam. Playing great. Been No. 1 for many, many weeks. At the same time I managed before in my career to beat the best players in the world, including some of the big three. Never beat Roger, but we never played also when I started to be really in the top 10 in a way," he added.

Medvedev further stated players need to be at their best when facing someone like Alcaraz.

"You have to play your best. You have to play your absolute best. As you say, as I say, I didn't play bad, but I didn't play my absolute best. Against someone like Carlos, Novak, Rafa, you need to be at your best," he opined.

"Maybe against other guys you can be playing not bad, you're going to have your chances, during the match you're going to find something to work with. With Carlos, you need to be at your absolute best and that's how you can win. Unfortunately, I was not," he added.

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Carlos Alcaraz defeats Daniil Medvedev, becomes fourth youngest Wimbledon men's singles finalist in Open Era

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

With the defeat of Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz has booked his spot in his maiden Wimbledon final. In doing so, he became the fourth youngest men's singles finalist at SW19 in the Open Era.

The World No. 1 is now the third Spaniard to reach the grass Major final, after 1966 champion Manuel Santana and two-time winner Rafael Nadal. The semifinal win against Medvedev was Alcaraz's 46th of the season, which sees him draw level with the Russian for most match wins on the ATP Tour this year. The 20-year-old is just the seventh man in the Open Era to reach multiple Grand Slam finals under the age of 21.

He faces four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the title match on Sunday, July 16. The two players are tied 1-1 in the head-to-head. Their most recent meeting came in the 2023 French open final, where the Serbian triumphed in four sets.