Daniil Medvedev admits he is ‘surprised’ by Carlos Alcaraz’s biggest goal confession

Daniil Medvedev has expressed his surprise at the fact Carlos Alcaraz revealed he would choose winning the Olympics over a Grand Slam title in 2024.
The world No 3 recognised that the Olympics is a “very big event”, but declared that the Grand Slam events “have the edge and are a bit more important in tennis.”
Ahead of his appearance at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires this week, Alcaraz was asked if would rather win the French Open or the Olympics this season.
“I would say the Olympic title. For me, it is a dream to bring a medal to my country, to Spain, and winning gold is one of the greatest things that can happen to you in the world of sport in general,” the two-time major champion explained in a press conference.
“This year, if you gave me a choice, I would say that I will keep the Olympic gold. Although I would like to win both (the French Open and the Olympics), I’m not going to lie.
“I am a boy who dreams big, I am very ambitious and I target the best in the world and the best in history. That’s what motivates me to give my 100% day to day and to go to the tournaments to be able to win them.”
The tennis event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be staged on the clay-courts of Stade Roland Garros from 27 July to 4 August. The 20-year-old Spaniard will be making his Olympic debut if he competes in Paris.
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz criticises tennis authorities as he calls for change on major issue
In an interview with Eurosport, 2021 US Open champion Medvedev gave his reaction to Alcaraz’s view and weighed in with his own opinion on the topic.
“I’m in a way surprised [at Alcaraz’s comments]. I wonder why he said it, was it because he was watching the Olympics when he was young, or for different reasons? Because it’s actually interesting,” the 28-year-old Russian said.
“When I played the Olympics in Tokyo [in 2021], I really wanted to play well, and [after losing to Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals] I was very, very disappointed and for a week I was really feeling bad, which doesn’t happen to me all the time after lost matches.
“So it’s a very big event which I think every player dreams of winning, but I do think that Grand Slams — in my opinion — have the edge and are a bit more important in tennis.
“Grand Slams are important, Olympics are important, ATP Finals are important. And I think what is the same in all these tournaments, is that when you’re there, you feel like ‘wow’, to win it I need to be at my best level and it’s going to be a huge victory if I do it. And that is the difference to some other tournaments.”
World No 2 Alcaraz is the defending champion at the ongoing Argentina Open, where he will face Andrea Vavassori in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Medvedev, who was a runner-up at last month’s Australian Open, has withdrawn from this week’s tournament in Rotterdam and next week’s event in Doha. He won both tournaments last year.
READ MORE: ‘Comparing Carlos Alcaraz with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is not reality’