德约科维奇否认新生代接班BIG3：他们还有很多工作要做
搜狐体育
02-20 19:30
北京时间2月20日，俄罗斯猛男梅德韦杰夫（DANIIL MEDVEDEV）近两个赛季在硬地场上所
向披靡，已经打进本届澳大利亚网球公开赛男单决赛的他也被看作是挑战诺瓦克-德约科
维奇（Novak Djokovic）的最有力对手。但是在接受“欧洲体育”采访的时候，德约科维
奇表示，25岁的梅德韦杰夫如果想要接班三巨头，还有“很多工作要做”。
世界排名第一的德约科维奇正在争夺自己的第九个澳网公开赛冠军，同时也是个人的第18
个大满贯男单冠军头衔，实际上费德勒、纳达尔和德约科维奇已经联手拿下了57个大满贯
男单冠军头衔，因此被认为是领先其他所有球员一个身位。
三届澳网冠军得主马特-维兰德（Mats Wilander）近日在采访德约科维奇的时候询问，近
几年表现强势的新生代球员梅德韦杰夫、亚历山大-兹维列夫（Alexander Zverev）和斯
特凡诺斯-西西帕斯（Stefanos Tsitsipas）是否已经具备了接班BIG3的能力，但是这个
说法被德约科维奇否认了。
“关于新一代接管我们三个人的讨论很多，但实际上这还没有发生。”德约科维奇表示，
“我的意思是，如果你愿意，我们可以整天谈论这件事，虽然我很尊敬他们，不过他们仍
然有很多工作要做。当然，多米尼加国-蒂姆（Dominic Thiem）赢得了去年美国网球公开赛
的冠军。我的意思是这些人非常强，毫无疑问，他们打出了高质量的网球。毫无疑问，他
们无疑将成为网球未来的领导者。但是我不会眼睁著站在这里，把权力交给他们，我要为
此而努力。”
梅德韦杰夫已经取得了20连胜，包括去年11月在伦敦ATP总决赛当中击败德约科维奇，不
过在交手纪录当中，德约科维奇仍然以4胜3负领先。
https://bit.ly/3bsia8i
AUSTRALIAN OPEN - 'I'M NOT GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO THEM' - NOVAK DJOKOVIC AIM
S FIRE AT NEXT GEN
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have dominated men’s tennis fo
r well over a decade. The younger generation are starting to challenge for hon
ours, but Djokovic said that while he is still in contention, Alexander Zverev
, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev are among the players who must raise
their game in search of a maiden Grand Slam.
Michael Hincks
BY
MICHAEL HINCKS
PUBLISHED 18/02/2021 AT 13:22 | UPDATED 19/02/2021 AT 06:25
A bullish Novak Djokovic has laid down a challenge to the next generation of m
en's players, insisting they still have “a lot of work to do” to knock the w
orld number one off his perch.
The Serbian is on the brink of a ninth Australian Open title after overcoming
qualifier Aslan Karatsev 6-3 6-4 6-2 in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Only Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev stand between Djokovic and an 18th
Grand Slam title, which would move the 33-year-old to just two behind men’s r
ecord-holders Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The trio have been the dominant forces in men’s tennis for well over a decade
, and with Djokovic’s level in particular showing no signs of dropping, he wa
rned the younger players – including Alexander Zverev, Tsitsipas and Medvedev
– must “work their ass off” if they want to topple the old guard before th
ey retire.
Djokovic told Eurosport in the Cube: “Pressure is always there, it’s part of
what we do, but pressure is also a privilege. It means you are in the mix, th
at you’re still doing something that is important and valuable for you and th
e rest of the tennis world.
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THE NEW GENERATION COMING AND TAKING OVER T
HE THREE OF US, BUT REALISTICALLY THAT ISN’T HAPPENING STILL. WE CAN TALK ABO
UT IT ALL DAY IF YOU WANT, BUT WITH ALL MY RESPECT ABOUT THE OTHER GUYS, THEY
STILL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
“Of course Dominic Thiem winning a Grand Slam title is fantastic. These guys
are very strong, play high-quality tennis, without a doubt.
“Certainly they will be the leaders of the future of tennis, without a doubt,
but I’m not going to stand here and hand it over to them. I’m going to make
them work their ass off for it.”
Djokovic said this tournament in Melbourne so far has been a “roller-coaster
”, with the top seed overcoming an injury scare last week before playing what
he described as his best tennis yet against Karatsev.
“It was definitely unique,” he added. “It’s hard to compare to some other
years, I do have a good memory but I cannot recall every slam how it went from
the first to the last, but it has been a real roller-coaster ride without a d
oubt, with an injury in the third round, the cloud of doubt that I had after t
he match with Fritz, not training at all in the days between the matches, and
having a really tough draw playing big-hitters and players in form.
“I’m really pleased with the way I’ve felt today. In a way it surpassed my
expectations today, I literally felt almost no pain today. I moved well and wa
s very focused. The big performance came at the right time.”
“It helps the confidence immensely. Regardless of the fact I’ve been in this
situation before so many times, each year is different. You want to get big w
ins, you also want to get tested. I like to get tested early in the tournament
, work my way into form, and I was tested on many levels in the last week or s
o. All in all, I’m in a very good situation, the way I’m feeling is encourag
ing.”