The 21-time Grand Slam champion also assessed his performance in what was his 13th meeting with Medvedev, who has fast become one of his biggest rivals in recent years.
“Look, with Daniil it’s never easy,” Djokovic said after beating the 26-year-old for the ninth time. “You know, you always have to change pace, mix up the serve, the return position, rallies. Try to make him uncomfortable, so it’s really a cat and mouse game in a way, every single match.
“He’s one of best servers that we have in the world definitely on courts like this when it’s really quick and the ball kind of skids through the surface it’s tough but he made two double faults on two break points in the first and second set. I knew in those moments he’d go for more so I changed my position. Sometimes you take a risk and it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. There’s no rules, it’s up to the moment.”