AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 13, 2021

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/F. Krajinovic

6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. 17 match wins in a row, and first win in a fifth set. What do you feel most proud of?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, definitely a good feeling to finally win in five sets, you know. I felt sometimes before that if I play good, I can win a lot of matches in three, four sets, and then if I don't play good, then when I can lose a five setter where I fight but I don't feel good. So today was most different and I'm happy that I managed to come back, let's call it like this, and win the five setter after losing the third and fourth set after he played some great tennis, especially like fourth set was perfect tennis from him. Managed to change really small details, put him in trouble, and yeah, definitely happy with the win and being in the next round.

Q. You've become someone who is consistently playing deep into the second week. He's still trying to get to the fourth round. How much of a difference do you think that might have made in that fifth set? He doesn't know that feeling and maybe is really wanting to get there.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I feel like actually I didn't know this, that he has never been in a second week. I know that he had a lot of injuries, that's why, also, but because he can play amazing level of tennis, and I feel like if he will reproduce what he did today on the court, he can be a top 20 for years to come, like for many years at least top 20 because afterward you need to make step by step.

So I'm really surprised by this, and yeah, for sure experience is a key. Let's call it like this. Even start of the fourth set I didn't get tight. I was not like, okay, it's going to be the first time doing something, I just wanted to win, so I stayed calm. Maybe that's why in the fifth set he started to do just a little bit more mistakes, just playing a little bit slower, who knows. But yeah, anyway, had to take my chances.

Q. You're obviously incredibly thin. Are you very careful about what you eat or do you have one of these bodies that you can eat 10,000 calories and you just --

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it's the second one. Now I'm coming back to like three, two years ago I tried to take care of what I eat. And more with my career growing up I started to take care more and more about it because I feel it's very important. But for example, before, or still even now when I have a week off or something, I like to eat, so many, many people when they see me, they say, okay, I never saw anybody eat so much. I like desserts and I cannot get up even one kilo, I swear.

Many people hate me probably for this, but the thing is that I know that with age it can change, so I need to be careful about this because you never know when it's coming.

Q. You said you have a weakness for desserts; anything specific?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, I just like sugar, let's call it like this. I call sweet desserts, tiramisu, panna cotta, anything. I don't eat sugar during the tournament and I've got five cakes in my room. After the tournament it's going to be a big fight with the cakes. I told you, some people will hate me.

Q. Your coach left the box and you seemed to start playing better after he left. Do you think he did that to send a message to you? Were the two somehow connected?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it for sure was connected. I don't know what was going through his head, but at least what he said is that he was sure I'm going to win, and he just wanted to leave me alone to be calm, because as myself, as human, that's why we can have, let's call it, some frustrating moments, both of us, because we both want to win. Him as a coach, me as a player, he wants me to win so he felt like that was the best thing to do.

Sometimes maybe I will not be -- I will disagree, but this time, yeah, for sure it was a good thing to do. I'm sure it happens, I don't know, once per year, two times per year maximum, maybe once in two years, but today it helped, and definitely we're going to talk about it a little bit, but there is not a big deal; let's call it like this.

Q. You were just talking about the step by step that somebody like Krajinovic might have to take. You're a top 4 now. What steps and what do you have to do to take those steps to go to 2, to go to 1?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's tough because you need to win big tournaments, like even masters can be -- for example, last year -- I think, I don't remember if I was No. 5 in Paris, Bercy, or I was still No. 4, because Tsitsipas and Zverev were really close. But I won Bercy and Masters without losing a match, a lot of points, I didn't gain one spot.

You need to win a lot of points, a lot of big tournaments like Grand Slams, like Masters 1000. For this you need to practice hard. That's what I'm doing. If you look at the top 4 we are still all in the draw, so unless you make final or win it, you will not move up, especially with the points not dropping still.

The only way is to win the big titles.

Q. He said that he could take consolation in this loss because you're a tournament favorite to win. Is that how you see yourself?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: To be honest, I try not to see myself at all, either as a shade favorite or as a favorite or as not a favorite because I just try to win my matches. I have a next one to play against McDonald. At this moment, that's in two days. Tomorrow I'm going to prepare. I want to win this match. If I win this match I'm in quarters, will play somebody there, prepare, and that's how I take it.

So I never look too far because I could say, Hey, in the final I'm going to play Djokovic or Thiem, because they are the top seeds, but it's too far and if it happens it's perfect. But I take it match by match and that's how I do it.

Q. I was wondering whether you watched much of Novak's match yesterday and saw him pick up an injury and how someone who was kind of rated second before the tournament it feels seeing him clearly in big discomfort and now a major doubt where he can even continue in this tournament?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, for sure when I see anybody, no matter which match, let's call it in pain and close to retiring or losing a match because of this, it's not easy, because I think injuries is for sure a big part of every sport, not only tennis, but if we would be living in a perfect world, we all would want to live without injuries. That's never good.

I definitely, yeah, just saw that he was in pain. I actually went to sleep and it was the middle of the fourth set because I had an early match and it was like 11:30 already, and I thought he was going to lose it because you could feel that he was in big pain, not moving, not hitting the ball.

So I was surprised when I saw him winning. That's why he has 18 Grand Slams. That's why he's amazing.

After, I don't know what he has, so let's see what he has, but as I say, thinking about myself, and again, only if I meet him it's going to be in the final. Never good to see a player injured.

Q. I was wondering how does it flip for you, especially today? It looked like you were going pretty smooth in the first and second set, you're playing well, but what happens when you lose your cool? What triggers it?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, I think the most that triggers it is my opponent playing well. He started playing better. I felt like I was in control of the match, started losing it a little bit. I felt it. Got a little bit mad at myself, first of all, and then it can sometimes -- that's what I have been working on since many years because even like three, four years ago I could go crazy any match.

Now I think I have made big steps already working on my mental strengths. Sometimes I'm very temperamental person on the court so sometimes it can still get out, and usually it doesn't help me to play good.

I think he felt also the momentum change, so he started playing better. I'm happy that I managed to keep my cool in the fifth set.

Q. How would you describe the effect on your thinking and emotions to go from having fans at the match to having an empty arena?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: For me it's for sure tough because just the change in atmosphere. Not even talking about what -- like something that changes in atmosphere during the tournament, it's not easy. Like even changing your court. Like one day you play on Rod Laver, the next you play on Margaret. It's not easy. You have to adapt.

It's the same with the crowd. We want to play with the crowd. We're still going to have this chance if we're later in the tournament. That's what I was thinking yesterday, the more I stay in the tournament, the more chances I will have to see the crowd back, to have the chance to go to restaurants again and stuff like this.

Had to adapt, had to win my match. That's the most important. But for sure would prefer to do it with a crowd in Rod Laver.