"I'll probably be in the history books if I don't let him do this" - Daniil Medvedev on his bid to stop Novak Djokovic from Calendar Slam

Daniil Medvedev advanced to his second Major final of the year by defeating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Friday. The Russian will now take on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday.

Djokovic is vying to become the out-and-out leader in the all-time Slam leaderboard by winning his 21st title. A triumph in New York will also make him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win the Calendar Slam.

Speaking to reporters after his semifinal win, Daniil Medvedev acknowledged that he himself had a chance of entering the history books by stopping Novak Djokovic from making history. At the same time, Medvedev claimed the occasion would have more of an effect on the Serb than it will on him.

"Yeah, I think from my side, of course I'm probably, if I can make this, I'll probably be in the history books a little bit somewhere for not letting him do this," Medvedev said. "But I don't really care about it. I think it's more about him, that it affects him."

The Russian added that the encounter could be even trickier than usual, since the chance of history would make Novak Djokovic more determined on the high-pressure points.

"From one side, for sure he's going to feel the pressure a little bit about it," Medvedev said. "From the other side, that what going to make him be even better in tough moments. I don't know, let's say, maybe he's going to be losing two sets to one or zero and have a break. Maybe some other Slam, some other time, he would not -- you know, he always gives his best also, but he would not throw something up. Here we know that he will do everything to try to make it happen."

Daniil Medvedev came into the 2021 Australian Open final on a 20-match winning streak, having defeated every active member of the top 10. He was, however, outplayed in the final by Novak Djokovic, losing in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic (L) and Daniil Medvedev at the 2021 Australian Open

The 25-year-old claimed on Friday that he learned a lot during that match, particularly in terms of tactics.

"Definitely tactically, because he was playing different than the matches he did before me, and I was kind of not ready for it. So now I am," he said. "I think, yeah(...) it's going to be more interesting in terms of tactically what I'm going to prepare."

Daniil Medvedev further went on to say that he did not "leave his heart on the court" in Melbourne, something that he will make sure to do on Sunday.

"I think the thing that I understand, I always give my best, but I feel like I didn't leave my heart on the court in Melbourne," the Russian said. "Even if of course I wanted to, there was something not turning up this match. That's what I'm going to try to do on Arthur Ashe with hopefully 100% of fans. No matter the score, I'm just going to turn up the heat, if I can say, and try to do my best, even more than what I did in Melbourne."

"The more you lose something, the more you want it" - Daniil Medvedev on reaching his third Grand Slam final

Daniil Medvedev at the 2021 US Open

During the course of the press conference, Daniil Medvedev also spoke about how he is hungry to win the 2021 US Open after losing his two previous Slam finals - at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open.

The Russian claimed that his run and expectations are far different than what they were two years ago at Flushing Meadows.

"Yeah, for me experience is a key," Medvedev said. "Coming first one, again, crazy story, crazy tournament, playing against Rafa. I want to win everything I play, but I was kind of the underdog. Let's be honest, I was already happy being in the final. It was first great breakthrough. I just won a Masters, which was already huge. I was in the final. So everything was a positive, which helped me to play good. I was not feeling like it's a must to win."

"Of course, again, if I play Novak, he has 20 Slams, going for the Calendar Slam, it's not a must, but I want to do it even more," he added. "That's normal. The more you lose something, the more you want to win it, the more you want to gain it and take it. I lost two finals. I want to win the third one."

Finals! pic.twitter.com/b4H5G1BZqg

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) September 11, 2021