Russian Daniil Medvedev considered it “incredible” to have won the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome on Sunday, his first title on clay, and still hopes to “play well” at Roland-Garros where he has never gone beyond the quarter-finals .
Journalist : Where do you place this first title on clay in your palmares?
Daniel Medvedev : “In a way in the first place, because it’s the first on clay. It’s incredible. I didn’t think I could do it. Honestly, a Grand Slam is bigger, so the US Open (won in 2021) remains number one. But this one is special because I didn’t think I could do it. I even still don’t believe it, not to have won, but to have played so well. I’m really happy with the way I played and to bring this trophy home. What a great pleasure it will be next year to walk through the tunnel for the warm-up and see my picture.”
Journalist : You will be world number 2 on Monday, which means that you will not be able to meet number 1 (Alcaraz) before a possible final at Roland-Garros, is this an advantage?
Daniel Medvedev : “If I had remained number 3, I would have for sure had in my table either Alcaraz or Djokovic. So I imagine that it is better to be number 2. So I will not play against Carlos (Alcaraz ) before a possible final, and I have a 50% chance that Novak (Djokovic) will not be in my table. But at the same time I have never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros (in 2021) …It’s always good to have a good draw, but it’s always better to play well!Because here, for example, I had the worst draw I’ve ever had, and I succeeded get myself out of it.”
Journalist : What explains the way you are playing this year on clay?
Daniel Medvedev “I wasn’t moving well enough and my shots weren’t deep enough. I think the new string (of his racquets) that I’m trying out this year is helping me, because it’s softer and the ball goes back more easily. On the move, it’s either training or my new shoes. And I managed to have time (to train), and so I managed to move well and to play well long. It sounds simple, but it’s the hardest part of tennis. You want to play long and you miss, that’s what happened to me in previous years. This week in Rome, I succeeded to put into practice what I had in mind.”