Daniil Medvedev explains why he thinks Novak Djokovic is the best of all time

Daniil Medvedev has hailed Novak Djokovic as the "best player of all time" due to his ability to consistently churn out victories, especially at the Slams.

Djokovic's astonishing tally of 93 singles titles includes 22 Majors, six ATP Finals, 38 Masters 1000s, 15 ATP 500 trophies and 12 ATP 250 titles. He sits only behind Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl on the list of men with the highest number of titles in the Open Era.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2023 Madrid Open, Medvedev was asked about his own phenomenal run since the 2023 Australian Open; the Russian has played five consecutive finals and won four of them. Medvedev remarked that like Djokovic, he was trying to perform well in every tournament.

“I think Novak is probably the best player of all time," Daniil Medvedev said. "It's just that we see on his face that in Grand Slams, he's different. Me, I haven't yet found this power to go on the court and say, 'Okay, today I'm going to be the best version of myself'. Since I can't be like that, I try to do it every day, and it's impossible every day, but I try to do it."

Medvedev also stated that he did not give importance only to the Majors, but to other tournaments as well.

"I am happy to have managed to win so many tournaments. Would it be better to win one Grand Slam than maybe five tournaments? Maybe, but that's not how it works for me. I just try to play my best every day," he added.

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Daniil Medvedev describes himself as 'not clay specialist'

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev reached the semifinals of the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters, where he lost to eventual runner-up Dusan Lajovic in straight sets. The Russian also reached the final of the Barcelona Open that year, losing 6-4, 6-0 to Dominic Thiem.

Since then, however, Medvedev has struggled for consistency on clay. Speaking to the press in Madrid, the 27-year-old expressed his wish to improve on the surface with every opportunity that he received.

"On hard courts, my every goal is to try to win the tournament," Medvedev said. "On clay courts, the goal is going to be every time after this to win a tournament. Till now I was not able to do it, so at the moment, it’s like trying to do better than I did once in Monte-Carlo. It was the semis of a Masters 1000 and then finals of Barcelona. So maybe to make finals of a Masters 1000 on clay would be great."

"But my first goal is try to feel good, because there were moments I felt good on clay, and try to get this feeling where I feel like I have control of the game, I feel like I can put my opponent in trouble. How I would describe myself? Let's call it this way — not clay specialist (smiles)," he added.

Medvedev will face Italy's Andrea Vavassori in the second round of the ongoing Masters event on Saturday, April 29.