德約科維奇否認新生代接班BIG3：他們還有很多工作要做
搜狐體育
02-20 19:30
北京時間2月20日，俄羅斯猛男梅德韋傑夫（DANIIL MEDVEDEV）近兩個賽季在硬地場上所
向披靡，已經打進本屆澳大利亞網球公開賽男單決賽的他也被看作是挑戰諾瓦克-德約科
維奇（Novak Djokovic）的最有力對手。但是在接受「歐洲體育」採訪的時候，德約科維
奇表示，25歲的梅德韋傑夫如果想要接班三巨頭，還有「很多工作要做」。
世界排名第一的德約科維奇正在爭奪自己的第九個澳網公開賽冠軍，同時也是個人的第18
個大滿貫男單冠軍頭銜，實際上費德勒、納達爾和德約科維奇已經聯手拿下了57個大滿貫
男單冠軍頭銜，因此被認為是領先其他所有球員一個身位。
三屆澳網冠軍得主馬特-維蘭德（Mats Wilander）近日在採訪德約科維奇的時候詢問，近
幾年表現強勢的新生代球員梅德韋傑夫、亞歷山大-茲維列夫（Alexander Zverev）和斯
特凡諾斯-西西帕斯（Stefanos Tsitsipas）是否已經具備了接班BIG3的能力，但是這個
說法被德約科維奇否認了。
「關於新一代接管我們三個人的討論很多，但實際上這還沒有發生。」德約科維奇表示，
「我的意思是，如果你願意，我們可以整天談論這件事，雖然我很尊敬他們，不過他們仍
然有很多工作要做。當然，多米尼克-蒂姆（Dominic Thiem）贏得了去年美國網球公開賽
的冠軍。我的意思是這些人非常強，毫無疑問，他們打出了高質量的網球。毫無疑問，他
們無疑將成為網球未來的領導者。但是我不會眼睜著站在這裡，把權力交給他們，我要為
此而努力。」
梅德韋傑夫已經取得了20連勝，包括去年11月在倫敦ATP總決賽當中擊敗德約科維奇，不
過在交手紀錄當中，德約科維奇仍然以4勝3負領先。
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.”