OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

August 8, 2022

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. Curious what your thoughts or on the field in the absence of the so-called big three?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, of course what I said, if the big three are in the tournament, they are the favorites straightaway. It's easy because they win a lot of tournaments, almost every tournament they play in, so there is no surprise when we make them favorites.

At the same time for me, it doesn't change much if they're here or not because my goal is to win the tournament. So no matter who I play in the final, if it's going to be a qualifier or wild card, lucky loser, second seed, I just want to win the match.

Then, of course, it's sometimes different sensations when you beat somebody from the big three. Well, actually 'big three', I never beaten Roger. For me when I beat Rafa one time and I beat Novak a few times, it's a special sensation, brings you a lot of confidence. Yeah, it's just good feeling.

At the same time I can tell you winning a Masters, it's always a good feeling no matter who you beat. Yeah, it's both in the same time.

Q. The fact that you weren't able to play at Wimbledon, did it interrupt some kind of rhythm, the routine of the season that normally goes always the same way, or you appreciated more the ability to take some rest and plan your training block?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, you have to appreciate it because I definitely couldn't change the decision of Wimbledon. I have to follow the rules, if we can say like this.

If you focus on the negative part... For sure I wanted to play Wimbledon, I wanted to do well there. I always want to be in the biggest tournaments and try to play good. You can just stay in this circle of, Oh, my God, I was not able to be there.

I just took some rest off after the last tournament, which was Mallorca, took one week and a few days off rest, made a very good preparation block for the US Open Series, which normally you cannot do because you play Wimbledon. I was able to do it. Feeling 100% physically, mentally ready. Really happy with Los Cabos for sure with the title.

Yeah, looking forward to here, trying to get some good matches.

Q. Considering that Rafa now has an injury, Novak is probably not going to play US Open, is keeping the No. 1 a goal for you, maybe be No. 1 at the end of the year, or you don't think about that?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: The thing is that for sure I think in a way about this. I'm happy to be No. 1 player in the world. It's a great feeling. To stay there is also great. But honestly, when guys - journalists - don't tell me, how to say, how many points you need to win, I don't know this.

For example, when I went in the final of Los Cabos on court, the lady said to me, Well, now you're the No. 1 till the US Open for sure. I was like, Great, I didn't know that. It's great.

It's the same. There are four thousand points left for me to win, for everybody actually to win, in these three tournaments. That's the maximum you can get. I would be happy to get the maximum. That's what I'm going to try to do. But that's tough.

The answer is that people who makes the most of these three, they going to have their chance to be in Turin, to become maybe top five. Depends who is it. If it's Carlos, he has the chance to be top one. If it's me, I have the chance to stay there, get more points at the end of the year.

I know in the race Rafa is far ahead. I guess Carlos is also quite far. That also, yeah, can change. It's not something that is bothering my mind, but for sure I want to get a lot of points.

Q. Does anything change for you playing under a neutral flag? Something that is on your mind at all?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, not much, to be honest, because for me what matters is playing tennis. I really enjoy my job. Yeah, again, it's about following the rules. The rule at one point was very clear that we have to play under neutral flag. Me, I'm still Daniil Medvedev. I still want to win big titles, win big matches, or small matches. It doesn't change.

So, yeah, same: I'm going to try to win here.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. How do you feel?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I'm in great confidence right now. That's why I went to Las Cabos, because I wanted to see where I was after the clay court and the green seasons, which are very different. It's good to come back on hard courts to know what your position is compared to the best players. I played top players in the semis and the final against Cameron. I played good matches. Not much more to say.

I feel very confident and I feel good for the next tournaments.

Q. You didn't play many matches because of injuries. Are you really hungry for victories now?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yes, I'm always very hungry for victories, which is the reason why I'm playing tennis. We all love tennis, but we don't play just to hit the ball. We all want to win. This is the reason why I'm playing. This is why I'm practicing.

I had a great block of practice before arriving here to prepare for the coming tournaments. If you don't prepare enough, you will maybe play one or two good tournaments, then you'll be injured or tired or something like that. I'm well-prepared.

I didn't play here yet because it was raining. I will have two good days of practice, and after I'll start the tournament. Of course, I'm very hungry for victories.

Q. It's quite rare to have a long break between grass and Mexico. How did you prepare? Did you work on specific things? What did you do?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: We didn't work on anything specific. We tried to work on a bit of everything. But mainly a lot physically. When you are 16, 18 years old, you need to work on your tennis because this is where you can make great improvements in your game. But later on when you're a bit older, so to speak, you need to work on your physical conditioning. Tennis-wise there's not a lot you can gain, so you need to work physically.

I took a few days holidays in Mallorca after the tournament. All together I had a week and a half between Monaco and Mallorca. All in all I had three whole weeks of preparation. Now I'm very ready. We don't know what is going to happen, of course.

Q. Now we are having sometimes tournaments without the big three present. Does this change something for you? When you come into that kind of tournament, do you approach the tournament differently?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Honestly not. Of course, when there are the big three, when they play the tournament, I always said they are the favorites because they win many tournaments. It's always easy to consider they are the favorites.

It doesn't change anything for me. When you play a tournament, you want to win it. Whoever you play in the final or the semis doesn't matter. Of course, if you beat one of the top players in the world, the better-ranked players, those who won Grand Slams, it's always a good feeling. But the important thing is to win the tournament. It's a thousand points. It's a title. The trophy is the same whoever you play. It's both things at the same time.

If there's Rafa or Novak in the final, it's a challenge of course. But anyway, you want to win the tournament. At the same time it changes and it doesn't change. It's tough to explain.

Q. Do you approach a match or tournament differently for a top-three player compared the younger players like Alcaraz and others?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It depends on many things. It depends on the day and the match. My best example is when I played Novak at the final of the Australian Open. I had won 21 matches in a row, I was fully confident, I was on a cloud. It's not that I didn't prepare well for the match because I followed my routine. But in the end Novak won easily. After the match I thought, How is that possible? I was feeling good. Something was missing.

After the final in the US Open, or before the final, I was in my mind 100% ready to do better. I'm not saying this is why I won, but I was better prepared.

You can't do that for each match. In the third round you would be exhausted because you would be thinking too much. But still you need to take seriously every match. All the players are good players. Of course, it depends on who you're playing. It depends whether it's a final or not. But I try to prepare for each match 100%.

Q. You're talking about preparation. Is this North American series important to prepare for the US Open?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Except for the COVID year, of course, I always played well in the US Open when I played good in the previous tournaments. I can feel the courts and the balls in North America very well. It's always important for me to build up my confidence.

Last year I won Toronto, semifinal in Cincy, good match against Rublev who played better than me. The year I reached the final I won Cincy. I have been in the final here in Montreal.

I want to play well here, of course. Of course, if something goes wrong, I will still try to prepare for the US Open. But I want to play well here. It's very important.