The Russian tennis player analyzed his performance against Tommy Paul at the 4th round of Internazionali BNL d’Italia
Daniil Medvedev’s curse has not yet found a solution; the Russian was unable to defend a title won last season this time either.
“Today was tough. I should have done better from a mental point of view. I only calmed down and concentrated at the end, but it was too late. I definitely expected to play better. The court was different, as were the conditions. I managed to compose myself quite quickly and this cost me the match. It’s disappointing, I wanted to do better in Rome. What can I say? what I will try to do,” said the Russian in the conference, after the defeat in the 4th round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia against Tommy Paul.
The Russian came back to play in Madrid after his ankle injury in Miami but, once again, was unable to defend his title. The American immediately sensed the opportunity and, even in the moment of greatest difficulty, did not let himself be influenced, aware of the fact that Medvedev was not present on the other side of the net. In the end, Medvedev did not dispel a taboo that is perhaps starting to weigh on his mind too. 20 titles won during his career, all different from each other. The only consequence of this statistic leads to a sensational result: the Russian has never managed to defend a title since he won his first trophy in Sydney in 2018.
At the press conference, the Russian also talked about the favorites to win the final at Roland Garros.
“We should take the ranking into account. Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner if he plays. Carlos Alcaraz too obviously, if he plays. Then it’s my turn, number four. Stefanos Tsitsipas won Monte Carlo and if he also wins the Rome tournament he could become the big favourite. Maybe he’s a little more open than he’s ever been before. It’s good news for me too, because I usually don’t play very well in Paris. The more possibilities, the better for me,” he told.
About the defense of the title, the Russian had also shared his point of view after the victory against Jack Draper in Rome.
“It’s very strange. I would think it’s a coincidence, an unfortunate sequence. I don’t care what tournament I play, I want to win. It doesn’t matter if I already won it the previous year or not. Every tournament I play, I want to win. I hope really that once in my career I can win where I won the year before. Now there is the possibility to do it and I will try. Now I like playing on clay more. Dirt is the thing I really hate about this surface. I don’t like.
The locker rooms are dirty, because we remove the dirt from our shoes. The machine becomes dirty after playing. Now, however, I have much more fun on the court. I played against him for the first time. I don’t think he likes clay very much and I tried to use that to my advantage because I know how it feels. When you don’t like a surface, in difficult times it can be really tough,” he told.
During a recent interview, Daniil had instead spoken about his tennis potential and his rivals, admitting how he feels that Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner are stronger than him.
“Maybe this year, in case of victory in Rome, I would do things differently in terms of preparation. Last year I lost straight away at Roland Garros but I played a good match, he was incredible. With the experience accumulated over the years I believe that he has managed to improve me and I have managed to adapt to this surface. Every year I feel like I’m a better player here, I’m getting closer to the performance I have on hard courts and this year I want to have a good Roland Garros.
It’s not an easy feeling being here, you’re up against several strong athletes and young people always pop up who want to beat you. For me it’s a great challenge to be here, I would only like to mention Djokovic but that’s not the case, Rafa is back and there are Alcaraz and Sinner. For Nadal, let’s see how far he goes. I honestly feel that Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic are better than me and therefore for me it is a big challenge to try to beat them. When I manage to win against them I feel like I have made improvements. I feel that they play very well and are constantly growing, and I know that if I win they will invent something new. It’s difficult but it’s nice to play these challenges,” he explained.