WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 20, 2021

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/P. Carreno Busta

6-1, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Great win today. How did it feel out there?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, when you lose two games in the match, always feels great. I'm happy with my level. Played very good. Served very good. Returned good. I mean, everything was on point.

Pablo, of course, didn't play his best. I know what he's capable to do, definitely, especially after Olympics. Didn't manage to raise his level today. I needed to take my opportunities. I took them, and I'm really happy about it and looking forward to the semis.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I was curious, between this week and two years ago when you won the title here, you played really well in Cincinnati. Is there anything beneficial to playing here, something that you like that you think brings out the best in you?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think definitely the conditions. Balls are flying quite fast. Court is quite fast.

I like US Open Series. It's the same courts, all the tournaments starting from Washington. Usually the same balls. Hot and humid, which first tournament when it's hot and humid it's really tough for the body. Then you get used to. I usually like to play in these conditions. It suits my tennis.

That's why, yeah, that's why I like playing here in Cincinnati. It's more about tennis, I would say.

Q. You're facing Rublev tomorrow. You have faced him four times and had success against him. What do you expect from him tomorrow?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Definitely a lot of intensity in the match, because that's how he plays. Turns around with the forehand, tries to hit it as strong as possible. Serves well, returns well, especially the second serve. Always a tough matchup.

You know when you play a top-10 player, no matter who, no matter what head-to-head you have, either you're losing, either you're winning, either you never lost or never won against the guy, it's always a new match where top players meet and everybody can win.

So it's the same with Andrey. Head-to-head doesn't matter. What matters is who is going to be the best tomorrow. And I'm hoping to just show good tennis like I did in the previous rounds. Like this, I can put my opponent in trouble or have my opportunities to win the match, actually.

Q. When it was mentioned to Andrey that you're his next opponent, his response was, Ah, my good friend Daniil. What would be your response to playing Andrey?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: My response is easy. I'm happy for the Russian semifinal. It's actually funny, because we played each other here in Cincinnati in quarters two years ago. I think it was our first meeting on ATP Tour. I played him one time in challenger before.

You know, that's what I said on the court. Hopefully next time it's going to be a Russian final, because we had a Russian quarterfinal, a Russian semifinal now here in Cincinnati. Hopefully it can be a Russian final one day.

Yeah, I think it's good for the country. We continue to improve, continue to play good. Tomorrow of course we are rivals. I'm going to try to beat him. I'm sure he's going to try to beat me. I have not much more to add.

Q. Can I just get another nontennis question in, please.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Of course.

Q. Obviously, like a lot of us in tennis, we get on long-haul flights. What do you do on a long-haul flight? Do you sleep the whole time? Do you bring your own food? What do you do?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I have a huge dilemma, because usually before the long flights, I don't sleep a lot. Why? Because sometimes they are in the morning, it's the last day at home before traveling long somewhere, so I usually play PlayStation or, you know, just enjoy myself at home the last day at home, so I go to bed late, like very late. So when I get on the flight, I really want to sleep.

But that's also, I don't have as much free time as I want, and there are all the movies you want usually on the flights, and I really like cinema. So I have always a dilemma: either I sleep or I watch the movies. So I try to mix it up, and then sometimes it's just happen that I'm watching a movie and fall asleep, and I'm like, Okay, it's time to sleep now.

Yeah, it's basically watching movies and sleeping. That's it.

Q. Obviously you're feeling quite well right now after last week, playing well this week. Is there a way to put into words the level of confidence you have right now and what kind of an impact that has on your game and what it allows you to do on the court?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, confidence is one of the most important parts in tennis. We have so many shots to play. You have backhand, forehand, slice, serve, wide serve, T serve. You know, many times when you're not in confidence, something gonna go wrong, your opponent can see it and put you in trouble. That's what we all try to do, try to find the weak spot, try to push it there.

The higher your confidence is, the more there is a chance that you won't have these weak spots. That's where you are tough to beat.

That's how I'm feeling right now, but what is tough in tennis, you need to continue doing day after day. So you cannot have one day where you're not going to feel so well and you know you're going to say, Yeah, okay, I lost a match but I have one more tomorrow. No. The tournament is done.

So confidence is important, and right now my level of confidence is really high, and that's, you know, the only thing I want to keep until US Open is I have maximum two matches to play. I just want to show good tennis.

Of course semifinal, final, you play the best in the world. Even playing good, you can lose, but I just want to continue playing good and showing my best level.

Q. The next US Open will not feature five former champions: Nadal, Wawrinka, Del Potro, Federer, Thiem. Do you think you have a great chance of winning it?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: You know, I always say, first of all, there is, how you call it, rates which you can find on Internet, so that's where you can also see. For me, it's about, yeah, it's about statistics, it's about this.

Definitely Novak is going to be the highest contender. He's winning almost all the Grand Slams right now. He won already 20. He has experience. He has a level. I'm not gonna lie. So he's the man under pressure, but I think he likes it, as some guys under pressure can crack. That's not about Novak. So he's definitely the main contender.

Me, talking about myself, first of all, if I meet Novak, it's good because it's going to be only in the final. That's the only possibility.

I'm going to try to do my best. If I manage to keep the level I'm playing at right now, I have good chances to go far. Then there are many things in place. One day you might feel not as good. You're going to get an opponent who is going to play his best match of the life.

You can have tough quarters, because quarters is where you get somebody from 5 till 8, and they can lose before, or it can be maybe somebody who you prefer of these four guys. It's all about small, small details.

I just want to play good. When I play good in New York I can do good results, and of course, yeah, I want to win it. That's every tournament is the same thing for me.

Q. The matchup with Andrey, he told me one of the most difficult things about playing you is the level of focus, because if he's not attacking you for even one shot, you could take advantage of it and step into the court yourself, or if he doesn't hit the right ball, then he's going to be in trouble. How do you sort of view that matchup? You were mentioning before all of his strengths, but how do you sort of turn that against him in a way?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, you know, it's as he says, it's the same for me. You need to keep focused, because Andrey has put in a lot of intensity. That's why I guess he feels it, because when I play him, I know the same.

I cannot lose focus. I need to be there all the points, because one small opportunity he gives me where he doesn't hit full power, I try to use it, I try to take it. Of course I try to hit shots that he will not be able to attack, to agress, because that's his game. That's normal against any player in the world, you try to get him out of the comfort zone. Sometimes you succeed; sometimes not. That's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow, yeah.