"He is in a league of his own with Rafa and Roger, then it's the rest" - Daniil Medvedev rubbishes claims that he is at the same level as Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic ended Daniil Medvedev's run at the 2022 ATP Finals on Friday, handing the Russian his third successive defeat in the tournament. With the hard-fought 6-3, 6(5)-7, 7-6(2) victory, the Serb extended his winning streak at the year-end championships to 3-0.

Djokovic will now meet American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals on Saturday. Medvedev, meanwhile, is exiting the tournament after losing all three group matches in a deciding set tiebreaker.

In his post-match press conference, the Russian denied being at the same level as Novak Djokovic and asserted that the Serb has his "own league" along with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

"Novak is in a league of his own, that's for sure, with Rafa and Roger. Then it's the rest. Maybe one moment somebody's going to try to catch them number of Slams or whatever, then we going to talk about different," Daniil Medvedev said.

Medvedev further stated that even though they had had good fights whenever they met, he still couldn't be compared to Djokovic or the other two Big 3 members.

"I definitely don't put myself in there. We had some tough battles. He's leading in head-to-head, even if I won some important matches. Yeah, that's all I can say. Yeah, I definitely, definitely not close to Novak. Maybe when we play, yes, but in general you cannot compare myself to him or any one of the big three," he continued.

---

"I'm confident I'm going to be able to do something big in the future, just need to continue working" - Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev in action at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Daniil Medvedev's 2022 season has been far from perfect. He won two tour-level titles in Los Cabos and Vienna, and made a final appearance at the Australian Open (where Rafael Nadal defeated him in a five-set thriller), but he couldn't replicate the highs of his 2021 season.

In that context, the Russian was questioned about his confidence to mount a comeback next year. He responded by saying he didn't play "bad" but would have expected more from himself.

"I'm sure, yes. If I wouldn't have Astana and Vienna tournament where I played really great level, maybe I would be a little bit less confident. In general after Australian Open I cannot find huge result from myself, even if I made some finals, won one tournament. I didn't play bad. I mean, I'm in Torino in the top eight. But I would expect more from myself," Medvedev said.

The 26-year-old further claimed he was sure he would do "big things" in the future, and that he would be sad only for a couple of days before enjoying his time off and preparing to come back stronger next season.

"But Vienna and Astana I played great. I mean, today I played great. Let's be honest. I'm confident I'm going to be able to do something big in the future. Just need to continue working. Going to be sad for one, two days, then enjoy my days off, then get ready for the next season," he said.