"There is not much difference between me, even Novak Djokovic, and the Next Gen; the difference is that Novak has 24 Grand Slams" - Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev reckons there's not much that separates him from the Next Gen players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Ben Shelton. The Russian thinks that the Next Gen is on par with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, even if the Serb has 24 Grand Slams more than most of them.

On Friday, Medvedev fell to Carlos Alcaraz in their final group-stage meeting at the 2023 ATP Finals. Despite the straight-sets loss, Medvedev is assured of a place in the semifinals, where he takes on Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz also booked his spot in the final four with the win and will face off against Djokovic.

The World No. 3 was asked about his thoughts on the Next Gen and whether they have achieved enough to earn the tag. Medvedev answered in the affirmative, saying that even though they were "super young," they have arrived on the global stage.

Having been beaten a few times by Alcaraz and Sinner, the 2021 US Open champion knows the abilities of the current crop of youngsters.

His belief was only strengthened by the fact that Djokovic has not been spared by them either. The 24-time Grand Slam champion fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the final at this year's Wimbledon and most recently to Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals this week.

"Right now we can call them Next Gen. I mean, they're already here, but they're still super young. Jannik, Holger and Carlos at this moment at the top. For sure Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils, guys like this, they can also come there," Daniil Medvedev said.

"I think because they're at the top, there is not much difference between me, even Novak, and them. The difference is that Novak has 24 Grand Slams. When they play one on one, as we saw, he can lose. So there is not much different," he added.

---

Daniil Medvedev: "The difference is I started playing top tennis at 23; they started doing it at 19"

Daniil Medvedev

Daniil Medvedev also touched on one of the biggest differences between him and the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He said that he only started playing top tennis from the age of 23, while they have been doing so since 19.

That has made Medvedev more proud of his own journey. The Russian has had to dig his way slowly from the bottom to the upper echelons of the sport.

"If I compare to myself, the difference is I started playing top tennis maybe at 23, I think I was. 2019. They started doing it at, like, 19. Pretty impressive. At 19 I was probably 600 in the world.

"That's impressive. That's also why I like my journey. I was not like them. I had to slowly, slowly dig my way up. Now I'm here and I'm really happy," Daniil Medvedev said.