ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS

April 14, 2023

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

H. RUNE/D. Medvedev

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Bad luck. Not the result you were looking for of course today, but maybe last night's match had an impact on your performance today?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Maybe, but also Holger played very good. You can never know. That's tennis. Sometimes you play night match and you have to be ready for the next one, so yeah, I'm definitely not gonna complain about this.

It's a pity Holger had doubles, because that's the reason why I couldn't play fourth match. I can understand it because at first when I saw it, I was, like, What the hell? Then I saw that he has doubles. I mean, understandable.

He played good. He's a great player on clay. I feel like that's the surface that suits him the best with his heavy topspin strokes. So, yeah, I think he's a very dangerous player on clay for the years to come.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. After years where everybody seems to be like best friends on the tour, you, Nick, Holger, Stefanos are bringing something spicy to the tour. I was wondering if you want to answer to the words that Sascha last night said. He said, He's one of the most unfair players in the world. I take fair play and sportsmanship very serious. He does not. He takes a toilet break when it's not possible anymore. If you want to answer this?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah. First, I do think that honestly with probably 90 players on tour I'm great friends. With maybe 50 it's not like best friends but really great relationship. So I usually feel bad when something on court happens and let's say I'm not fair play, because I know sometimes I'm not.

Yesterday what the thing, with the stick, made him say this? Toilet, well, I wanted to pee. What does he want me to do? And let's take it step by step. So 2-All -- no, 3-2 I have like five breakpoints or whatever. He manages to hold. Congrats.

Then I make the game 40-Love for me. I go to the toilet, I lose next two games, he's serving for the match, and he's saying I'm going to the toilet to make him play worse.

Sascha is living in his own world. I already had like five players in the locker room coming to me and saying, Come on, Daniil, why are you so unfair (smiling)?

Yeah, Sascha, when he loses, we can find maybe 25 interviews of him where he does say some strange things. Again, honestly saying like if guys like Casper, I don't know, Andrey, maybe Karen, even Diego, so I had let's call it a fight with him in ATP Cup, honestly, I'm at fault, and probably he still like doesn't like me the way maybe he liked me before this match. And I'm sorry that a guy like Diego, who's so kind and so fair play, feels like this about me.

Sascha is not this guy. Sascha is not like Casper, he's not like Diego, he's not like Andrey. When he says someone is not fair play, you're like, Okay, great. Look at yourself in the mirror.

Q. How is this spontaneous relationship or dialogue with the audience working out for you? Is this some kind of a reaction to what happened in Melbourne last year when you said that the audience killed your dreams? Is this some kind of a revolt? How do you interpret this?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would say it's kind of, yeah. So what happened, first match with Sonego, I serve an ace. I thought it was on the line. So I even go for the next ball, the referee comes down, says it's out, so I want to see.

I go there, crowd starts whistling. I'm, like, Shut up guys. I just went to see that bounce -- ah, the bad bounce, clay -- the bounce, what's wrong?

So yesterday was the same. I was discussing with Carlos. I actually heard the ball, like he said, "heard," the ball on the line. But I go to see the mark. I only see one mark out. No marks on the line.

I'm asking him, Okay, I see the ball out. What else? And they start also whistling. I'm like, Shut up. And I'm not going to play until you guys stop whistling.

Every time it's going to be the same. If the whole stadium is going to whistle, I'm just gonna sit down and wait. If I stand up, they whistle, I'm going to sit down again. So we're going to have to wait for an hour.

Q. Done this before?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, yeah, because I haven't been booed that many times. It happened sometimes, I will not lie, but it's not like every tournament it happens.

So, yeah, especially again, same, US Open 2019, I was getting booed for a reason. Let's call it I deserve it.

Here? I go to see a bounce, I get booed? No, no, no, guys. I'm going to sit down, going to wait till you calm down. If you don't calm down, we are not going to have a match. Good for you.

Q. I did the interview with Sascha yesterday and I want to continue with one more question. I always thought you guys would be, more than rivals, I thought you would be even friends. Is that not the case, on the one hand? On the other hand, how disappointed maybe are you that he does this publicly and doesn't approach you directly in order to solve that problem with you instead of the way he chose it?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: First of all, I think it's tricky, because I don't want to say too much, because he probably did it -- when was it? Straight after the match, right?

Q. Midnight.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, yeah. In the heat of the moment. If he says the same in one week, different story. If he changes his mind, different story. I can understand.

After the match, many things can happen. I just saw that Money and Soney (phonetic) had apparently had a fight or whatever. After the match, heat of the moment, he lost a tough one. He was serving.

I'm not going to go too much into details. Just gonna say we were never really close friends, maybe only in juniors. That's only him, in his congratulations speeches, saying something like he was friends with me and my wife, which is definitely not the case since long time. I never said this.

So, yeah, it doesn't disappoint me at all, but again, if in one week he's going to continue saying, well, I'm going to going to come to him in the locker room and say, Let's discuss what's wrong. Tell me, I'm gonna tell you, and maybe we never gonna speak again and we are gonna be enemies or whatever. But at this moment I don't care much.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. So are you happy with this tournament? What do you think of your clay court season?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It was not bad. I beat good players on clay. Yesterday evening was magic. It was very tough on clay. It's not easy to win matches like this.

My opponent played very well. I could have played a bit better, but if we talk about clay again, I'm not as at ease as he is on clay. I believe he's better on that surface, and I think in the following years he's going to be very strong on clay.

So overall, it's very positive. There are other big tournaments coming up. We'll see what I do there, but I'm very happy with this tournament in Monte-Carlo.

Q. Before the tournament you were already saying that clay...

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It doesn't change.

Q. Yes, it's not changing, but after a match like yesterday evening, aren't you starting to like clay?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I like to win those matches. It's a great battle. I thought I was playing very well, as I should play on clay with big forehands, long rallies, many breaks.

But I still prefer hard courts because I'm able to recuperate better after a match. I struggle there, but I can get better after a match quicker, and sometimes I'm able to win easier matches and to be ready for the next one. All these little details make a difference.

On clay I will always try to do my best. There are many points you can win if you want to become top 1, 2, 3. And also, I hate to lose, I like winning, but I still don't like clay.

Q. Rafa will not play Barcelona and Novak seems to have been injured with his elbow? I think something happened on Sunday. Some people saw it. Are you thinking about the French Open then? They are the two favorites.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, that's for sure. It's like before the tournament here. It doesn't change for me. If I'm able to play well and I reach the semifinal and then I see there is no Rafa or Novak, it changes. Although now Rafa is not as well ranked, I might meet him before, but for the time being, I believe Rafa will play the French Open, although I'm not in his body. I don't want to talk for him. But he will be a favorite, even if he didn't play before. He won 14 times this Grand Slam, so he will be the favorite.

So it doesn't change anything for me, but if I go far in the tournament, then the draw becomes easier if there are not those two guys who won 44 Grand Slams.

Q. What should you change in your game to be a bit more efficient on clay? You are not far.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: There are things I'm trying to change. I'm trying to change the directions and have a bit of more topspin, because if you play flat on clay, it doesn't work, especially against the better players.

I believe my game was not so bad except that he was more decisive in important moments and he feels when he needs to be aggressive or defensive. This is something I feel well on hard courts and not as well on clay. So I'm not sure I can change that, but I will try. If one day I'm able to become a monster on clay, I'm happy.

Q. You played Carlos in Indian Wells. Do you feel the presence of those young players now?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yes, he and Sinner are very good players. We saw that immediately. They went very high in the rankings very quickly. Maybe Sinner a little bit slower than Carlos.

Holger, winning the Masters in Bercy last year, saving match points in the first round, it's impressive. What can I say? They are great players. Carlos is maybe the better one, I have to say. But they are very good. In the following years they can become top 10 or not far.