Les trois premières performances de Daniil Medvedev à l’US Open 2026 avaient nettement renforcé ses chances d’aller loin dans le tournoi. Mais le joueur russe a finalement chuté en huitièmes de finale, battu 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6) par l’idole locale Frances Tiafoe, porté par les encouragements du public new-yorkais.
Malgré la déception liée à cette occasion manquée, l’ancien numéro un mondial a retenu les aspects positifs de son parcours américain en conférence de presse, tout en reconnaissant qu’il était passé à côté d’un match qu’il avait les moyens de remporter.
À 30 ans, le Russe n’a cherché aucune excuse après sa défaite : "Difficult match. I just didn't play well enough to win, that's all," a expliqué 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 ne pouvait pas se satisfaire de ce résultat
La ferveur du public américain n’a pas, selon lui, pesé sur l’issue de la rencontre. "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."
Le numéro huit mondial a néanmoins insisté sur sa déception face à une prestation insuffisante : "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.”
Le Russe a également évoqué l’importance de savoir accepter la défaite : "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."