MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

March 30, 2021

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/F. Tiafoe

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I wanted to find out from you, with the exception of Rotterdam, you have been very consistent throughout the season from tournament to tournament. Do you feel that the season thus far for you is meeting or exceeding your expectations?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Don't feel like it's exceeding, because I had definitely high expectations, especially with the end of the season I had last year. I think it's meeting the expectations, for sure.

I always said I always want more. So I played, what, three tournaments, I would love to win all three of them. Didn't manage to do it. Had one final and won one, which is great. Forgot about ATP Cup, so makes it four.

So, yeah, has definitely been a great start. Every match I play I want to win, try to win. Doesn't work all the time. That's for sure. But that's my goal.

Q. Tennis is such a wonderful international sport. Here in America, for so many years, we have seen one wonderful Russian after another come and really perform really beautifully. My question relates to the comment you said just the other day, that you feel really Russian. Just talk about that and the difference in our cultures, maybe how that helps your tennis. I'm just interested in what your thoughts are about that.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah. I think how it helps my tennis is the fighter mentality. You know, sometimes this is a mentality where I want to win against someone like -- I feel like Russian mentality is usually, Okay, everybody is against us. It's probably in every part of life.

We really have it. You know, we feel like everything is against us. But that's when it gets, you know, if you're Russian, you're like, Okay, everything is against me but I'm going to go through it, I'm going to fight through it, and that's what makes sometimes me go crazy on the court and that's not good. That's something I'm working on.

But, you know, I think that's like the biggest part. Yeah, when I was talking about this, it's just because I have been long time living in France or Monte-Carlo already and speak French, have some French friends. But every time I come to Russia or speak with my Russian friends, even those who live abroad, it's like you feel that, well, I'm not French or American because I speak English. I feel Russian from head to toes, and I'm proud of it (smiling).

Q. So Kuznetsova, who is a little bit older than you once said, Hey, our grandparents fought World War II with knives. What's a tennis match? A real fighter mentality in the Russian culture?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I feel like it's the same. You know, we can talk about history. I was not born, of course, but it's the same. When we are pushed to the wall and then there is no way back, like many wars in Russian history, people who were fighting against Russia would come to Moscow and basically think it's finished. You know, we won the war. That's when Russians are, Okay, that's enough. You know, we're gonna fight back.

Q. Here in America, for a good while now, you seem pretty happy. You seem to have a glint in your eye. You seem to like American culture. Just talk about coming to America and what your thoughts are about our own crazy culture that we have here.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it's definitely different. Every time you come it's like, you know, something new. Anyway, I have been here so many times, still every time it feels like something new because so different to Europe. I would not be able to, like, think about one thing.

The other question is would I be able to live here? Not sure, but maybe. But coming here, yeah, is always a pleasure. It's always fun.

Q. I want to ask you, this match against Frances had a lot of rallies, passing the nine-shot mark. How do you feel physically after this match? And of course considering the cramps in the match against Popyrin.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, to be honest, the thing is tomorrow I'm definitely going to be feeling better than today. The match, I was not cramping and I was feeling quite good on the court and that's important.

That's when you can recover, I still have time to recover well, to sleep well, and tomorrow I'm going to be definitely fresher than from the cramps of the other day, which today before the match was not easy. I had to focus mentally, to just say to myself, you know, I can make it. My legs can make it. I know I'm capable, but it was not easy. Tomorrow is going to be easier in terms of physical.

Q. Week before last, I had the opportunity to virtually cover the St. Petersburg ladies trophy and had the chance to talk with both Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova, both wonderful people. My question is do you know either of them? And also the fact that they both have the competitive desire to play and do well in their mid-30s, do you yourself hope to be playing competitive tennis ten years from now when you're in your mid-30s?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, definitely would love to. We never know. Some people lose motivation when they are 30. Some keep their motivation until they are 45 and maybe even play in challengers or futures.

I don't know what's gonna happen in ten years. I have huge respect to both of them. Actually, Zvonareva, her first coach was same coach as mine, Kryuchkova Ekaterina, in Russia. I remember when I was like eight years old she was maybe No. 2 at this moment or something like this. She came to the small club where we were practicing, small kids, I was like maybe seven or eight, and it was snowing and we started throwing snowballs in her car (smiling). She was with the coach. That's the story I remember.

Sveta I knew a little bit when I came on the tour basically, but, yeah, I mean, amazing sportsman. Huge respect to her. Grand Slam champion. What else can you achieve? You can always achieve more, but she's a huge champion, really nice person and love spending time with her.

Q. I want to ask you about your match against Bautista Agut. You have played him a couple of times, last time in August of 2020. I want to know what you think your game has evolved the most from that meeting?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think, to be honest, the match in Cincinnati physically was a disaster for me. I had a tough time just before coming there. Worked a lot but I had a tough time getting my shape together after all what happened before Cincinnati tournament.

So was playing great tennis there, which I was surprised, but physically I was not able to hold the moment, and against somebody like Roberto, that's important. I think that's the main part. I had a lot of confidence coming in.

Physically, again, I'm going to be feeling definitely better than two days ago or today, and I'm ready for a great fight against a great player.

Q. A tennis career is based on many, many decisions, but if you had to look back and say, Hey, these were the one or two decisions that really helped me shape my career, what would those one or two decisions be?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I have one. It was three years ago or maybe four, I'm a little bit tough with years sometime. Just before I won Sydney, the preseason, I decided to start to dedicate my life more to tennis. When I mean "more" is maybe all the small things. Eat better, go to bed earlier, which is like maybe small, even we say stupid things, but, you know, one of them, if you just change one, it's not gonna change your career. But if you try to change all of them, it changed mine at least.

Of course I was scared, you know, that I'm going to dedicate my life a bit more and it's not going to work, you're scared of this. But it worked, and I'm really happy about it.