AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 12, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, welcome back to the Australian Open. This is your first tournament of 2024. Tell us about your preparation and when you got to Melbourne.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I got to Melbourne on 6th, the night. We thought it's enough of time to prepare. Pre-season was good. One exhibition in the middle, and we managed to win it. Was a great feeling.

Yeah, the question was always whether I want to have a very short pre-season and then a warm-up event. But I've always done it. It works well. I decided this year that one time I have to try to do it the other way and see how it goes. We'll see how it goes.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Daniil.

Q. What you described there, trying it differently this year, does that feel like a risk at all?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think everything feels like a risk, especially when you try it for the first time. I don't think I've ever played an Australian Open, which is the first slam of the year, without a warm-up tournament. Usually the first match can be little bit not easy sometimes in the season. I remember last year I had a first match I played against Sonego, he cramped after one set, which was a bit surprising.

There is a risk always. But as I say, otherwise I would be 35 years old and I would be like I actually never spent a New Year at home, never do this. So I decided that is a year to try. Finished late. Had vacation first time at the end of the season maybe in four years. If I would go here for a warm-up tournament, I would have like, as I said, two weeks of pre-season. Then you go, you go nonstop.

Last year after US Open I felt that mentally and physically I was not what I wanted to be. I decided it's going to be good thing to try like this.

Q. This time last year you obviously weren't in your best form. Obviously it clicked. You ended up having an amazing season. What did you learn looking back now about last season about how things developed for you?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I just got this question like five minutes ago. What did I learn from last Australian Open. At first I was like, I don't know, I didn't learn much.

I think the thing I learned future is bright no matter what. I remember last year sitting in a press conference room. Was a tough feeling after the loss. I think dropping out of top 10, stuff like this. Then was probably one of the best parts of my career.

So, yeah, that's the motto: the future is bright. This year hopefully I can play better in Australian Open and go further and show some good tennis.

Q. Do you ever feel tired at some point during the season? Does this change, off-season? Do you think it could help you be less tired later during the season?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, first of all, for sure many times you feel tired. It can be different tiredness. Sometimes you're tired because it's been a long season and you're just exhausted in the end. Sometimes you can win Australian Open and feel tired for maybe -- I'm talking win over losing in the final (smiling) -- and be tired after. Because Grand Slams are tough, mentally. They are challenging. Many, many times you feel tired. Then it's always the question how do you go with this fatigue. Do you try to overcome it. Do you take a week off. Do you practice straightaway to take it out.

That's exactly why I didn't want to do a prewarm-up tournament. Again, you come to Australia before the new year. You are here for many weeks. Yeah, you get tired also.

It's a constant question you ask yourself: How next time do I feel better during this part of the season or this part of the season. I don't think anyone has the answer, but you always try to find it.

Q. This morning I was watching the Netflix "Break Point" episode that you were in. I wondered how you thought and felt about how you were depicted in that show, how you were presented.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, what can I say? Actually I was in a way waiting for this question because I think during vacation this year, I had a lot of thoughts. I felt like I need to change something. When I say 'change something', it came like spontaneously to me that I want to take care more of important things for me, and take care much less about non-important things, which can be different things: sitting on your phone, playing PlayStation. I still sit on my phone and play PlayStation, I just try to do it less and in the time of the day where I have time for it.

I'm thinking much more about my tennis, about which person I want to be, about how I'm going to feel physically. Still to this moment there would be some days where I would go to bed at 2. Next morning it's a little bit tough, but fine. I'm trying to do this less.

It's going to be the same on the court. Without changing myself, without being not honest, or how can I call this, I want to try to change, kind of block the noise from outside and focus on myself more. I think that's very important in life. The more you focus on external things and about other people, what other people think of you, what you think of other people, the less you focus on yourself. I think that's when you can get tired, you can get frustrated about things.

I didn't watch the episode. I saw a little bit here and there. I'm still on social media. I didn't watch it and probably will not because I'll get frustrated probably (laughter).

I heard a little bit. I don't have much to say. That's how Netflix is, and that's why we see it, because it exaggerates things, it's usually hot and cold, there is no neutral. People around me, people in the locker room, they know how I am, how I am on court, which can be tricky, how I am off court. I feel like I have a good relationship with mostly all of the tour.

I don't have much to add because, yeah, series is not real life.

Q. Unfortunately you've been heckled by fans in the crowd at times at the Australian Open, at times painted as a villain. Does that bother you? Do you think you'll continue engaging with those fans or block it out completely?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: That's what I'm saying. Sometimes I could feel it could be - how we call it - not fair in a way. Life is not fair. Sometimes I would deserve it for different actions that I did.

That's what I'm saying. I want to change. I want to mature. I feel like I've done a big step these last months. Hopefully people can see it on the court because that's the toughest challenge, tournaments. When you're on court, that's where the adrenaline is on its highest. That's where it's tougher to control your emotions.

That's how I want to be. I know maybe it was not the best Grand Slam in terms of me and the crowd. Even if something happens, I just want to kind of go with who I am, try to do less of stupid things that don't help me as a person and tennis player. Hopefully I can achieve it this season, and we're going to see a new Daniil Medvedev.

It's too early to say. We'll have to see at the end of the season (smiling).