Daniil Medvedev’s relationship with clay is at best tumultuous and he goes into the Monte-Carlo Masters still hating clay but he said he still has higher expectations going into this latest swing.
Medvedev is known to hate the surface voicing his opinion at any juncture including after last year’s Indian Wells final. But he also won his first title on the surface last season. This after an ill-fated prediction from Jannik Sinner about his lack of prowess.
Rome was the site of his first clay win and Medvedev who recently had to bat away criticism surrounding his lack of titles was a mixed bag when it came to his thoughts still on the surface.
“I’m either way getting there step by step. I made quarters three years ago [at Roland Garros] playing actually some really good tennis, in my opinion. I won Rome last year,” said Medvedev to Eurosport.
“I still don’t like clay too much, just because my game doesn’t suit it perfectly. It’s much tougher for me to adapt to different circumstances, either bad bounces or a guy that has a good kick-serve and stuff like this. So a lot of small details I have to take care of, which I managed to do last year and some years before in Roland-Garros.”
“So I actually have in a way higher and higher expectations for clay every year than before, which can sometimes be tricky but at the same time I like high expectations because when you have high expectations, it means you have the confidence.
“Sometimes you can lose and lose this confidence, but sometimes it can actually bring you higher. So I’m really looking forward to Roland-Garros. I feel like lately I managed to find a small edge at Grand Slams and play well starting from Wimbledon in 2023. So I’m going to try to use it and try to have a good French Open this year.”