Las tres primeras actuaciones de Daniil Medvedev en el US Open 2026 habían disparado sus opciones de avanzar hasta las rondas finales. Sin embargo, el tenista ruso terminó desplomándose en octavos de final, derrotado por 7-6(1), 6-4 y 7-6(6) por el ídolo local Frances Tiafoe, impulsado por el fervor del público neoyorquino.
Pese a la decepción por la oportunidad perdida, el exnúmero uno del mundo analizó en rueda de prensa los aspectos positivos de su participación en el US Open y reconoció que había rendido por debajo de sus posibilidades.
El ruso, de 30 años, no buscó excusas para explicar su derrota: "Difficult match. I just didn't play well enough to win, that's all," explicó Medvedev. " I think I should have played better in some moments of the match. I should have made better shots and made better decisions. In the important moments, he probably made a better decision or made a better shot, because in general I had my chances. I should have won the first set. I could have won the third. The second was easy for him, in a way.”
Medvedev no puede estar satisfecho
El calor de la afición estadounidense no terminó afectando al desenlace del partido. "I don't think the stadium has much to do with it. Sometimes there are statistics and then, three years later, those statistics disappear. I think at times I should have played better. I should have made better shots and made better decisions."
El actual número ocho del mundo, no obstante, subrayó su pesar por el nivel ofrecido: "If I was happy with the fourth round, I had better stop playing tennis. I'm not happy with the result. I'm happy with the way I managed to turn the situation around. I played three good matches. But today was a disappointing match, a disappointing level. So I'm not satisfied at all, even if maybe it went a little better than I expected after the previous three American tournaments.”
Medvedev también habló sobre la importancia de aceptar las derrotas: "I'm not sure if it's better as an athlete, as someone who wants to be number one in the world, but that's the way it is. With age, you just see so many defeats that this is just another one. Obviously I wanted to do better, but I didn't play well enough. That's why I'm out. On to the next one."