Daniil Medvedev is playing a season with ups and downs. The Russian reached the final at the Australian Open earlier this year (third after defeats in 2021 against Novak Djokovic and 2022 against Rafael Nadal), but was defeated by Jannik Sinner at the Rod Laver Arena, losing a two-set lead.
The 2021 US Open champion reached the final in Indian Wells in the spring, but had to give up to Carlos Alcaraz for the second year in a row. In Miami, he suffered a hard defeat by Sinner in the semi-finals, showing that he had suffered a lot from the comeback suffered in Australia a few months before.
In the following months, Daniil showed that he was still not comfortable on red clay and did not shine at the French Open. The Russian finally took his revenge on Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships, playing perhaps the best match of his season so far.
Medvedev won the first set against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon semi-final, before suffering the imperious comeback of the young Spaniard. The former world number 1 has entered the Paris Olympics without great ambitions, since it was played on the same red clay as the French Open. After passing a couple of rounds, the Russian was beaten in two sets by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Medvedev wants the title in Canada
Daniil Medvedev is still looking for his first title in 2024. The Russian will try to break this fast in Montreal, where in 2021 he won the fourth of his 6 Masters 1000 on the board. Returning from the Paris Olympics, where he was eliminated by Felix Auger Aliassime, former number one will be able to compete again on the surface on which he expresses himself best, the hard court.
During the press conference, the 28-year-old native of Moscow addressed several topics with his usual sincerity and frankness. Daniil could not avoid addressing a topic that has made a lot of noise in the last few hours, the qualification of his colleague Denis Shapovalov, because of an insult to a fan during a match in Washington. Medvedev, who has already had problems of this nature in the past, did not hesitate to give an answer that may turn out as a drool at the ATP summits.
His words: “I don’t think Denis should have been disqualified. For what you hear on TV, deserved a warning and maybe a fine after the match, but that’s all, so I was really very surprised. I think the ATP is doing some good things right now and some less good things, but I have a feeling they don’t know where they are going,” he said with great sincerity.
The Russian compared tennis with two other sports: “They want to be like Formula 1 and football. But in this case you can not ask players to stay calm like robots, while around them there is a circus and a show. Things need to be clearer for players and spectators,” said the current world number 5.
The Russian loves the hard court
The Russian will try to win his first title in 2024 in Montreal. Daniil has a great chance in Canada, as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will be missing. The former world number 1 will not have a simple debut, as he will face the fearsome Spanish Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who is not experiencing the best moment of his career.
“The balls here are more favorable for players who have a little more trouble generating power” – Medvedev said during the press conference. ”For me, they are excellent, I feel very good with these balls. I was talking to my coach, I hadn’t felt that ball in three or four years on the circuit. Last year, in 2023, there were only heavy bullets. I had problems with my elbow, with my shoulder. There are always players who love this type of ball, others who hate it…I wish there were many more” – he continued.
Medvedev played the Paris Olympics despite knowing he had little chance of winning a medal. The former world number 1 is not yet a top player on red clay, although he won the Internazionali BNL of Italy last year.
“Felix played a very big game and I didn’t play so bad. He likes playing on clay, not me, even though I’m making good progress. The result could have been the same on hard given the way Felix played. He had never served like that against me in the past. He served on all the lines. That’s why he won” – Daniil explained.
The Russian will certainly be among the favorites at the US Open, where he won in 2021 and reached the final last year.