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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2020

Daniil Medvedev

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

D. MEDVEDEV/P. Martinez

7-5, 6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Are you satisfied with the level of tennis you're producing at the moment?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think there are still some things to improve. I think I could be more aggressive few moments of the match.

At the same time, you know, when you win three sets, you don't want to discuss too much your level or something. Of course next match is going to be completely different, so happy with the win, happy with the win in three sets without a tiebreak finally.

I think I lost only one serve, which is good, also, even if I had some troubles on it also today. So in general, yes, happy (smiling).

Q. With the next game, some potential for the Australian, Alexei Popyrin. Do you know much about him? He seems in some ways similar, obviously behind you level-wise, but very tall guy, moves well, pretty big game. What do you know about him?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I played him in Wimbledon last year and was a really tough match, exhausting one. A really close one. I managed to win it, but already last Australian Open we saw how he can play in Grand Slams in front of the home crowd.

So if it's gonna be him, it's not gonna be easy. Of course he has to win first. Right now I don't know the score.

Q. Up a set at the moment.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Let's see who wins, and then I'm just going to prepare for the next opponent.

Q. Your medical timeout in the second set looked like an unusual one.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, well, I was bleeding from the nose, which can happen to me sometimes. Doesn't usually happen during the match so I had to stop it. Usually takes like four minutes, three, four minutes. I called the physio so he could help me to stop it. But it's nothing.

Q. So that's happened a few times to you while you've played?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Let's say it happens maybe two times a year or maybe once. Like, I remember it actually happened last year Australian Open in first round. I think it was the only time last year, so it can happen sometimes but it's nothing.

Q. Not a tension-related thing?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, no, not at all. If it would be, I would be bleeding every match I play (smiling).

Q. How happy are you not to be having to play outdoors at the moment?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think was good regarding today's opponent. I think he can play good on clay, so indoor hard is tougher for him.

I was lucky that it was raining in the beginning of the match, so we had to close the roof. Yeah, at the same time, I like to play outdoors. I like to play indoors. I just like hard courts.

Q. How would you describe yourself at the moment as a player? Your own perception of yourself.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I don't really have it. I just, you know, I just try to always find the best shot at the moment. So, like, depending on the opponent, it can be dropshot, lob, down the line, cross, it can be anything.

I just practice every shot I can on the practice to be able to produce it on the court.

Q. A few different conditions out there today: sunshine, rain, overcast, roof closed. Does the court change how it plays and how do you have to adjust to that?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, of course it changes a lot, even like it was gray when we stepped on the court. We just played one game on the, let's say, outdoor court.

As soon as the roof is closed, everything is different. It gets more hot, more humid inside. The ball goes faster. I think the sound of the ball even is different. So everything is completely different.

As I said today, I think it was in my advantage. Sometimes can be in your disadvantage.

But anyway, it's like playing on Rod Laver or Court 3. It's going to be completely different. Just have to adjust to your match and try to win it.

Q. The underarm serve, he tried it out there not too successfully. Is that gaining a bit of traction? Is it worth trying? Is someone like Nick doing it the best? What are your thoughts?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I don't know actually why he did it, but it surprised me a lot. But if he would make a good one, I think I would be in trouble. But it was really a bad one, so I had the ball -- easy ball, which is great, because this was 15-40 in the third set, important game.

You know, sometimes when Nick started doing it, people were, like, It's disrespectful for me, it's not for me.

It's one of the shots which he can use good sometimes, Nick. We saw some players do it last year when they're tight, because, well, it's easy to put the ball in like this. Like especially on clay, I think it can be even tough to return.

So me, I just, you know, just need to be ready for it sometimes and try to win the point.

Q. Come up with one yourself maybe, or...
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I tried some in practice, but, I mean, I'm confident in my serve, even if I don't put it in, confident that I can make an ace. So if I have a 15-40 down, I would better try to make two aces than just try to distract my opponent with an underarm serve.

Q. You had such a good run in New York last year. What's it like coming to a Grand Slam after a good run like that?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I don't know for other people, but for me it's just another slam where I have to win round by round again and again, where I had two tough rounds in my opinion in terms of game, especially the first one against Frances.

So I just take it as any new tournament, as an ATP one, any tournament I play. I just take it round by round. I try to win my matches.

Q. I saw you hit with Lorenzo Musetti the other day. What do you think of his game, his potential? And when you were younger, do you remember hitting with top players like yourself when you were coming up?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it was yesterday, and he was playing unbelievable like yesterday. I don't know if he plays like this in the match in terms of striking the ball. He was striking everything. He was getting some crazy shots in. He made me a tweener winner after doing, like, 10 forehand winners before.

If we would play the match yesterday, I think he would beat me 2 and 2. But of course it's not like this.

I remember when I was young, I think the first like huge top player I practiced with was Novak. I was around 450 before going on futures to Belarus and Minsk and he was going to Montreal. I don't remember his result there. But it was fun and was really great.

And of course to hit with top players, I think for young players like Lorenzo, it's amazing experience. He can, you know, see the level, see the shots. Sometimes it actually surprises you that he hits maybe stronger than me, and it was like this. When you are young, you think I have to hit stronger. You look on the TV. The guys, they play amazing.

And then you hit with them and then the power of the shot, maybe the speed is the same. So you understand that it's something more than just the power.

Q. From your point of view, is it vital for popularity of tennis in a country to have a superstar? And how important is it or how unavoidable is it?
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's tough to answer, because you know there are countries which maybe didn't have like a huge superstar lately but they still love tennis.

I think it's still more about just, how to call it, the vision of the people in the country, like in Russia, for example, love hockey. Even if at one moment we won't have good hockey players, we'd still love hockey.

Same about soccer. Like for some years Russia was maybe not that good. Now it's getting much better. But still, everybody loves football, everybody loves watching it.

But of course having one superstar helps a lot for new people to like tennis.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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