NITTO ATP FINALS

November 17, 2023

Daniil Medvedev

Pala Alpitour,Torino

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/D. Medvedev

6-4, 6-4

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Hello, everyone.

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, a tough match. What do you think was missing out there today?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, in important moments, I was not good enough and he was a little bit better than me. Kind of feel strange because 4-4 is considered an easy score, but I felt like I had couple of opportunities, got maybe a little bit unlucky. He played one unreal game in first set on my serve. Second set I played a bad game on my serve.

Honestly, tough to say much. But looking forward for tomorrow. No other way.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You had nothing much to play for. How about changing the system like it is in Laver Cup: even the replacement player would have a chance if he comes in in the second match?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, tough to say. I would think more about something like last match at the same time. But for tournament, for tickets and stuff, not easy. Like this, they would have to have second arena. Some players would not be happy to play last match in the other arena, then come back to center. Tricky situation.

But I think this format was here maybe since the start the same? I think it happens sometimes. But to be honest, I had a lot to play. After the match two days ago, I said, Oh good, I'm from the first place. But that was not the case. I had a lot to play.

I think I tried my best. But, as I say, when you don't see from TV, I don't know how it looked from TV, but inside of me, I felt like I played a good match, actually much better than against Sascha in terms of my level. But I lost, pretty easy in a way.

Tough to say for me, to be honest, at this moment.

Q. It's going to be Jannik in the semifinal. Last two matches in Beijing, he beat you, a lot of coming to the net, serve and volley. In Vienna, he did something different. What are you going to expect from him? What is going to be your strategies?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, first of all, at this moment he's in top form. I mean, this result prove it. So he can do everything.

As you say, he can do serve and volley, but at the same time he can stay at the baseline and be very good. Some dropshots, slice, down the line, cross. He can do every shot and that's why he's a top player.

I felt like in Vienna I made a good response to what he did in Beijing, but I still lost. I need to be even better, to respond better to his shots.

I mean, here he played unbelievable, but he still lost two sets. That's what I'm going to try to aim for: try to play like guys who won the set from him. I need to definitely be at my absolute best and better than today tomorrow.

Q. You had spoken in New York about when you play Carlos you have to play like an 11 or 12. Is that what you were still thinking coming into this match? Carlos has been a little shaky the last couple months. What was your mindset going in? What is your view of Carlos in the last couple months, given he had a three-match losing streak?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: First of all, definitely, last couple months were a little bit tougher for him. He lost more matches than before, sometimes to lower-ranked opponents than before.

As I said, when I watched against Rublev, the beginning was tough, then he was playing good. Against me, same. There were things I could have done better, again, in these important moments. There were some points where he was playing very good.

I didn't play 11 out of 10 today. I would give myself 8.5, which is a pretty good score, but it's not enough to beat Carlos.

The mindset was the same. As I said coming into this match, you don't want to lose a match before playing semis. It's not the best feeling to lose a match. Your body reacts differently. Now I have to kind of regroup myself for tomorrow.

For sure I would love to win this match, but it didn't happen. Now I have to forget it very fast and try to focus only on tomorrow.

Q. Knowing that you're into the semifinals, does that provide you with a little bit more comfort, and maybe the loss is not as devastating as it would be at a regular tournament?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: The thing is that energy, when you know you are into something already happen, and you have one match more to play, it's not the same. At least me, for the moment, there are sometimes parts of tennis where I don't control the energy around myself. I try to do my best to control it as much as I can.

By saying this, for example, two times I was even in a worse situation, a different situation. I won two matches, was sure from the first place. I still won the two matches. But the energy that you play with is not easy to explain.

For example, I mean, probably, I don't know, you don't want to dive and hurt your knee. I never dive, so a little bit stupid example (smiling). That's what I'm talking about.

At this moment, the only thing that is left, I have a match quite soon, less than 24 hours, I play tomorrow at 2:30, I have to only after I leave this room thinking, How do I beat Jannik tomorrow? For sure, I feel bad for Sascha. He was looking forward to tonight's match.

Yeah, I was one time in this situation. I think Rafa beat Stefanos and I was playing Sascha. If Stefanos beat Rafa, I could still be hoping to beat Sascha in two sets. Long story, but Stefanos loss. I went into the match. I was a little bit like, Well, I don't have much energy.

I tried my best, but need to do better tomorrow.

Q. You're not the age of Djokovic, but looks like new generation against old generation almost. What do you think about this, if you are excited? Which is the biggest difference between someone like you and these young players? Secondly, looks like a lot of people are attacking you more going to the net. What you can do in next evolution of your game? You work a lot we can see.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: First of all, about guys coming to the net. First of all, those who do it, because I think it's kind of a good tactic against me, but you have to be good at the net.

For example, Sascha, for me he's a very good player at the net. Carlos was able today to do some, like, sliding volleys. Maybe there are two, three players in the world that can do it. Sascha was going to the net a lot, but I passed him a lot.

I know how to do passing shots and I will do it more because maybe more guys had come to the net. To beat me just to come to the net, not enough. I will pass. You have to be really good at the net.

If guys continue to do it, and I really see I struggle, I'm going to find a way. For the moment, I don't see this.

Yes, some guys can do it. Yes, sometimes they succeed, but sometimes they lose also. Carlos against me in US Open was going to the net I think 50 times, and he lost the match. Same with O'Connell, for example. That's the first part.

Second part, for sure right now we can call them Next Gen. I mean, they're already here, but they're still super young. Jannik, Holger and Carlos at this moment at the top. For sure Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils, guys like this, they can also come there.

I think because they're at the top, there is not much difference between me, even Novak, and them. The difference is that Novak has 24 Grand Slams. When they play one on one, as we saw, he can lose. So there is not much different.

If I compare to myself, the difference is I started playing top tennis maybe at 23, I think I was. 2019. They started doing it at, like, 19. Pretty impressive. At 19 I was probably 600 in the world. That's impressive.

That's also why I like my journey. I was not like them. I had to slowly, slowly dig my way up. Now I'm here and I'm really happy.