	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

US OPEN

September 6, 2019

Daniil Medvedev

New York, NY, USA

D. MEDVEDEV/G. Dimitrov

7-6, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A lot has been made of you playing a villain. Did you grow up with professional wrestling? Was that an influence at all?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's funny because actually when I was like, I don't remember, six or seven, I liked wrestling because I thought it's for real. My parents were like, Why are you watching this? This is just a show.

I was like, No, they're fighting for real.

But I don't think it has any - how you say? - impact on what's been happening here. As I said before, I want to be a better person than I was a few days here.

Q. After so many wins, how does it feel when you're playing the big points, in the first set in particular, seemed like he was playing better than you, but when the big points came, you stepped up?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it's true. I think the confidence means a lot in this case because I do think he was better player in first set. I do think I was kind of lucky to win it.

Then the momentum changed completely. I think after I was playing better than him in the next two sets. We had some amazing level, I think.

Yeah, talking about first set, these crucial points, this moment in my game, there is something strong that makes me win these crazy sets and crazy matches, which maybe two months ago I would have lost, like to David, for example, in Wimbledon.

Kind of same battle, same match, but I lost it.

Q. How would you describe the difference between going on a run in the tournaments leading up to the US Open and going on a run here that has you in the final?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, of course Grand Slams are different just because it's even five sets. You have to win much more sets to be in the final. I probably won same amount of sets like three tournaments before together, I'm not sure.

It's really tough mentally. That's what I've been missing before. Before my best slam result was fourth round. I felt like it's just so tough to win a five-set match. I knew I was going the right way, I just had to fight for every set, for every point. Didn't work out before.

But here, this week, everything has worked out. I won a lot of four-set matches, which shows how great mentally I was here, and physically also.

Q. You said you were missing it before. How did you get it?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: As I say, I was going the right path. I felt that there is something missing, but I'm trying to find it. I don't know how did I find it.

I think it's just experience because this year I lost two really tough five-setters at Roland Garros, leading 2-0, having a break in the fifth. Wimbledon, having break in the fifth. I lost them, but it's a great experience to know how it is to not let this happen again.

Q. The other day you messed up. You've now candidly said you want to become a better person.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: On the court. Off the court, I think I'm okay (smiling).

Q. To me you seem mellow, have a nice smile. Could you tell the tennis public what kind of person you are?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I will not say that I'm a kind person or a good person. I can only say I'm a really calm person in life. I actually have no idea why the demons go out when I play tennis.

Especially when I was a junior, I had a lot of problems with my attitude. I was not getting defaulted, but I was getting -- to have a game penalty was easy.

I was working hard because every time I do something wrong on the court, I'm sitting with myself, I'm not like this in normal life. Why does it happen? I don't want it to happen like this.

So I have been working a lot on it, and I have improved a lot. Sometimes it still happens. But again, talking about normal life, to make me angry, you need to do something crazy for one week in a row. You need to, I don't know, come to my hotel, knock on my door at 6:00 in the morning for seven days in a row. Then I'm going to be maybe mad a little bit. If not, I'm really calm.

Q. Life can come at you pretty fast when you're your age, go on a run like this summer. Have you had a chance to step back and think about what you've achieved, where this could lead?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Not yet. This summer's been, I should say, so fast and long at the same time. Long because I've played so many matches. At the same time so fast because, as you say, I didn't have any moment to just sit down and look back and say, Okay, I've done amazing things.

Hopefully I will have some time after Sunday. It's going to be the last match in USA summer. Of course, deep inside of me, I understand that what I've done these four weeks is amazing, even comparing to what I've done before.

Also one more thing: I don't want to stop. I will always work to be better. I will try to do my best every day.

Q. We all know what happened in the last two matches when you were booed. You seem to have won the crowd over. If they end up booing you on Sunday, how would you feel?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would be surprised, but I would have to take the energy and go again with this energy.

As I say, I'm not proud of what I did. I'm working to never do it again. But also I said it during Cincinnati and Montreal, that things like this happen sometimes with me. I question myself, Why does it happen? I think I got a lot of answers, and I'm trying to not do this again.

Q. Three or four foot faults in the first and second sets. You seem to move past them, don't even look at the line umpire. How are you able to move past them?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I don't know what's happening this US Open. I think I'm just maybe, I don't know, either so tired mentally, either I'm just not focusing on anything. As you say, just going through to win matches. I got probably the most foot faults in my life this tournament, these two weeks.

It started in the first match. I got, like, five. I think with Stan was most. My quad was hurting, so I was not focusing on the line. You're not really focusing on it, but you see if your foot steps on the line.

With Stan, I think I got, like, 15.

Q. Hasn't been something all your career?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No. That's what I'm saying. Either before line umpires didn't want to tell me or it's just these weeks. As you say, I just have to go through it. Okay, I've done it again, need to be better next time. I have to do a second serve now.

Q. Today you almost showed no emotions on the court, even after the match point. Is this the Daniil you want to see on the court, keeping emotions totally off?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think I had enough of good emotions during the match, sometimes saying, C'mon, looking at my team.

What I found about myself, let's say this season, that usually when I try to burn my emotions down, even the good ones, that's when the bad emotions don't come out.

Talking about the after match, I said it in the interview after the match, that I started doing it in Cincinnati. I feel like it's going to be my thing, just a funny thing with myself, not celebrating after the match and just looking at my team. Okay, I won, it's done (smiling).

Q. Obviously we don't know who the opponent will be for the final. If you wouldn't mind speaking about each one separately, starting with Berrettini. You had a tough match with him. What have you seen in his development and what is the biggest challenge about his game for you?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, Matteo has improved enormously. I remember this match, second round of Indian Wells. I think I got my first Masters win in the first round of Indian Wells. Kind of big moment for me.

I was supposed to play Kyrgios. My ranking at this moment, it was not easy to face him. Then he retires and I play Berrettini, lucky loser from qualifying who lost to Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-1.

Okay, good draw. First game of the match, he was serving 140 miles per hour. I was, Wow, what's happening? Talking about this match, I had 6-1 in the tiebreaker and I lost the tiebreak.

So it's a match to remember. Yeah, second set he was up 3-1, Love-40, and I won the match. It's a good match to remember.

It's great to see how far both of us have become and see the position we're in, both first semifinals of a Grand Slam, maybe two first finalists of a Grand Slam on Sunday. It's great to see him.

Talking about Rafa, it's tough to find words. So many players and so many people found them before me. He's one of the greatest champions in the history of our sport. He's just a machine, a beast on the court. The energy he's showing is just amazing.

To play him in your first Grand Slam final should be, I want to say, a funny thing. It's not going to be a funny thing, but it's going to be an amazing thing to live.

Q. You have had one match against Rafa. The result was the opposite of the match with Berrettini. What do you remember about that match with Rafa?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It was a tough one. As I actually said, his energy was much higher than mine. He kind of, I would say, eaten me on the court because the start was kind of similar.

I had one breakpoint, then he got a break, but I only lost with one break. Then he was only going harder, harder, faster, stronger, and I was only going down.

It's great that I have this experience playing him in the final of a Masters. I know what to expect. I know how to prepare for it.

Q. You've played three lefties already in the tournament. You could play another one with Rafa. How unusual is it to run into so many lefties in a tournament? Do you think that would help you if you play Rafa?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's really unusual. I think this year before it, I should have played, like, three lefties in all the year. Now I've played already three this tournament, and maybe fourth one. Just amazing.

But of course it helps a lot that I played three lefties before with completely different style, all of them. Kind of getting used to it. If Rafa wins, it's going to help me.

Q. You said you've been working on your mindset. How or in what ways?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: With a person, with a mental coach. She's helping me a lot. I mean, to be honest, my wife helps me a lot. Again, just sitting there with myself.

I lost a lot of matches in my career when I was getting crazy. You never know when you lose a match just because you lost it or because you get crazy and lost some concentration. You can never be sure about it.

I was sitting after these matches, I was like, I don't want to lose these matches because I get crazy or because I lose some concentration because of the fans, because of the referees, I don't know, something that happens during the match. That's why.

I want to lose matches because I was a worst tennis player on the court than my opponent. If I manage to do it every time, that's going to be great.

Q. When you were younger, how did people around you react to seeing you very calm off the court and a bit more crazy on the court?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's tough to say because when you're young, you play in front of five people.

Different. There were many who would say, let's say, coaches or something, at the age of 16 or 14, I could get engaged during the match because I thought they, I don't know, clapped on a double-fault or something. I would scream on them. They would scream on me. Many of these people would say, Okay, the guy is completely crazy, he's never be a good tennis player. Which is maybe happened to some of the tennis players. I'm glad I proved them wrong.

Talk about reactions, they were totally different. Some wanted to just help me get better. Some, as I say, said, Okay, who is this crazy guy and what is he doing on the tennis court?

I've improved big-time. Hopefully I will improve even more.

Q. You gave a couple sarcastic thumbs up to Gilles in your box today. Do you ever talk about that after the match?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, it's just usual. That's actually one of the things that I should get rid of also. Usually when I do it, it means that mentally, it's not that I'm not 100%, but I'm not, yeah, 100% calm. That's also some of the things that I play better when I don't do this.

It happens. But Gilles knows very well how I feel during these moments because when he was young, he told me a lot of stories about himself, actually on the opposite, not on the tennis court but in real life. It helps me a lot to also understand how emotions go in the human mind.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297