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World No. 5 opens against Sonego, could face Djokovic in semis
Daniil Medvedev is eager to open his 2023 season with some tough matchups against top opponents at the Adelaide International I — but he'll need to navigate a loaded draw at the ATP 250 to get those matches under his belt.

Seeded third, Medvedev is joined in the Adelaide field by fellow 2022 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev, as well as Turin alternate Holger Rune.

"It's definitely good," he said of the deep field, "because first tournament of the year, if you manage to win some matches, that's good, because you're going to play good opponents. It's always good to get matches before the first Slam.

"It's a really strong tournament. Everybody knew it before coming here. Really strong draw, so everybody needs to be at their best, and we're definitely going to see some great tennis here in Adelaide."

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While top seed and 2007 Adelaide champ Djokovic is a potential semi-final opponent for Medvedev, the World No. 7 is more focussed on a deep run than any blockbuster matchups down the road.

"I definitely saw that I can play Novak in the semis," he said. "At the same time, what motivates me is to be in the semis, and if it's Novak there, it's great. If it's somebody else who beats him, I don't care much; that's also great. It means that somebody is in great shape, managed to probably beat the best player in the world right now.... I would be happy both ways. I just want to be in the semi-finals to start, and I don't care who I play."

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Medvedev is back in Australia for the first time since his heartbreaking defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Australian Open final. And while Nadal's vintage form in the first half of last season was one of its major storylines, so too was the success of other young stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and Rune. The influx of top talent will make 2023 as challenging a year as any on the ATP Tour, according to Medvedev.

"I think it's always difficult, really, because it's always some new players that come in," he assessed. "Some old ones are maybe playing a little bit worse, but then they're coming back, like let's say Sascha [Alexander Zverev] was not playing for a lot of months, but he can come back any moment and he's going to be a contender. Even Dominic [Thiem], he's in tough moment, but he's a guy who won a Slam, so any moment in his career he can be back at one moment, and he can start just winning matches, winning tournaments.

"Same, of course, Carlos is No. 1 in the world right now, playing amazing. So many good players. Sometimes there are sensations in the first round, so I want to say you have to focus as much as you can on yourself, try to show your best tennis, and that's when you can win Grand Slams and big tournaments."

Medvedev will open his 2023 ATP Tour season against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, with Miomir Kecmanovic of Aussie wild card Christopher O'Connell potential second-round opponents in Adelaide. He finished the 2022 season on a four-match losing streak, though three of those defeats came in third-set tie-breaks in Turin.