"I'm like, stay No. 1 as long as you can" - Daniil Medvedev on crazy stat about his head-to-head against Novak Djokovic

Daniil Medvedev beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday. He backed up the victory by beating Andrey Rublev in the final on Saturday.

His 6-2, 6-2 win over Rublev saw him lift his third trophy in as many weeks. Speaking to the press after the game, he touched on his crazy stat against Djokovic.

Medvedev leads their head-to-head 5-3 when the Serb was ranked No. 1. Overall, however, it is 9-5 in favor of the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

Having recently stumbled on it, the Russian joked that it would be better for him if Novak Djokovic could stay World No. 1 for as long as possible.

"Actually I saw one crazy one that I am 5-3 against Novak when he's No. 1. I'm 0-6 when he's not No. 1. I'm like, 'Stay No. 1 as long as you can. If I can play you when you're No. 1, will be better,'" Daniil Medvedev said.

The conversation came to be because Medvedev was told that before February, he had lost nine straight matches against top 10 players. When asked if it was something that was weighing on his mind, the World No. 7 answered in the negative.

He stated that he had always known what he was capable of and kept reminding himself that it was only a matter of time before he pulled one back.

"I knew I didn't win for a long time. I think, if I'm not mistaken, after Rafa [Rafael Nadal] loss, I didn't win against top-10 players. I knew I'm capable of because there was a stretch when I was on a 20-match win streak," Medvedev said. "

I won, like, 12 times in a row against the top 10. I knew I'm capable of doing this. So these statistics, they don't get into my mind. When you can change the statistic, that's good."

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"If I can manage to keep the level I played these three weeks, I can do big things and I know about it" - Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis

Daniil Medvedev further expanded on his crazy February run, one that saw him win titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai back-to-back-to-back. The Russian picked Dubai as the best of the lot, adding that beating elite opponents like Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic along the way felt amazing for his confidence.

"The way I play these three tournaments was top level. Especially Dubai was probably the best out of the three. I was really playing well," Daniil Medvedev said.

"Again, beating Novak and Andrey, the scoreline I managed to do, the confidence I managed to do it, was amazing. So right now I'm feeling amazing."

However, the former US Open champion was quick to turn his attention to the next task at hand - the Indian Wells Masters. Medvedev remains confident in his own level heading into the tournament. Despite knowing there are many others who can challenge him, he believes he is capable of doing "big things" in 2023.

"As I said, tomorrow long flight to Indian Wells. New tournament, new story. Want to win some matches there. Of course, want to win the tournament, but there is only one winner, so that's not easy," Medvedev said.

"The more I can achieve this season, the better. If I can manage to keep the level I played these three weeks, I can do big things and I know about it. Other players, they want to win also, so it's not going to be easy."