BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 13, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/G. Dimitrov

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Are you starting to like this court a little more than you did last year?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Today was good, but as I said on the court, I do think it's because when it's windy the sand goes on the court, so first day I practice here was super fast. I was, like, to my team, Wow, it's good, so fast. Then was slow, slow, slow. The match with Korda was unbelievable, nine breaks, I broke him two times second set, I lost the set. I had to break him four times in the third to win 6-3. Something ridiculous and was super slow.

Today as soon as we went on the warmup was fast and was in my favor. I was happy about it. I played good. I could serve well. The serve was going through there, et cetera, et cetera. So let's see at the end of the tournament.

But as I said last year, I really like the place, so I love to come here. To play sometimes it's trickier, but I want to play well here because I want to like to come back and not be like, oh, my god, Indian Wells again.

So far so good. I'm looking forward for more.

Q. You mentioned nine breaks. When you were on the court, I think you said it was one or two breaks and the quality was so good.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 100% sarcasm.

Q. How does your sense of humor help you in times like this?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It definitely didn't help me with Sebastian. But it was very strange, the conditions on the stadium, because starting from the beginning of the match, first set I broke him three times, I lost my serve two times and won. The radar was showing he's going like at 132 miles per hour T. I was, like, Wow, the ball is stomping. So I stepped far back on the return. I really don't feel it that fast. 130 is a fast serve.

That's the way the conditions were that night, and it was very tough mentally, because second set I'm two times up a break, some bad games, last game he played well. I was, like, do I lose again some crazy match against him? In Shanghai it was setpoint which I could have won, et cetera, et cetera.

Yeah, managed to just stay calm and I was actually very happy about this and I just managed to fight till the end and finally to win.

Q. This is the only hard court Masters 1000 you haven't won. Is that something you think about and wanting to win it or do you put that out of your mind?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, to be honest, I don't think about it all because every Masters I play I want to win. I don't care if it's not the first time.

But as I said, you know, I like Indian Wells so I definitely want to try to win it one time. Last year, you know, was pretty close. The final itself, was very far from winning, but to be in the final it's close, as close as it gets to getting the trophy.

I have one more chance this year and I'm going to try.

Q. When you are playing against one-handed backhand players, is there any specific plans or things you are trying to do? Also, when you are hitting backhand with your two hands, do you feel like you are using, like, right hand or left hand or...

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Oh, I think I never thought about this too much, but I think I use both in a way. Like, I do feel like my left hand helps me a lot on the backhand to cover the ball sometimes when needed to make it go in. I do think, yeah, I'm tending to use very, like, 50/50 both hands.

Yeah, when you play one-handed backhand, it depends. Every player with one-handed backhand is different. Someone spins more, someone slices more.

Someone slice will bother me; someone's slice will not. Usually in general, yeah, you tend to play more there. In the same time, this can be tricky. This day he plays better from there.

So depends the player, and there are so many different players with one-handed backhands. Depends on this.

Q. It's been six, seven weeks since Melbourne. How long did it take you to come off that disappointment and just feel okay all over again and just start looking ahead?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would say one week, not more, maybe even less. Because straight after the final I said, look, I was, like, okay, maybe in two days I'm going to change my opinion, but my opinion didn't change.

I played a great match. I started great. I was playing good tactically. In my opinion, I didn't, let's call did, crumble under pressure. Like, I don't feel like in third set I started thinking too much about winning or shaking some shots. No, I felt like I continued a good way of playing. I continued what I needed to do, and I didn't have to change it.

He managed to change some things and he managed to play better. That's why, yeah, he won. That's why in my opinion it was special for him this final, also, to win it, to manage to win it.

I was a bit scared in a way just how next tournaments are going to be, how motivated I'm going to be after this defeat. Then I got a bit injured, so in Dubai I was only thinking about my injury during the tournament.

Here I feel great. Mentally I feel great, I'm ready to fight, I'm ready to win, if I we can call it this way. I think it's definitely behind me. I'm going to have to come back to Melbourne and try to win it.

Q. Jamie Murray recently said he thinks doubles is kind of losing its value on the tour. Curious if you heard his comments and what your thoughts were and what you would do to maybe help promote doubles?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I don't know how I can help promote it. I always liked watching doubles. The thing is that I think it's -- when was it, 15 years ago -- when it was deuce, now deciding point. I think it's good to make doubles a little bit faster on this. This also makes so many not even call it upsets but it makes a bit more lottery-wise doubles.

So it's a tough mix, but I don't know if attention to doubles is going down or up. I don't know the numbers.

But I think, you know, on the tour doubles is getting a great, let's say, value on the tour. But I also saw that he has something to say how to make it better. Well, I'm not even in the player council, but if they can make it better, I'm only happy. I always loved watching doubles. I love all doubles players. I think they love me. So let's go for it (smiling).

Q. A while ago, Tsitsipas wrote a letter to the sport of tennis, saying, Oh, I love you, and thank you.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Uh-huh.

Q. Then we asked him to write a letter to Indian Wells and he said, Oh, you've been mean to me. So if you had to sit down and write a letter to the Indian Wells tennis courts, what would you say to them?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would love to say, if you said Indian Wells in general, because to the tennis court itself, this could be a little bit more harsh.

But because, you know, if you ask me on the court while I'm in the match, I could say many, many, maybe many bad things. Since I'm here, in a calm environment, I would say, if I have to write a letter, that it's a tough challenge for me to play on Indian Wells courts.

When I'm in the moment, I prefer not to have challenges. I prefer when everything is going easy, win 6-2, 6-2, well, that's rare on ATP Tour, but I prefer it. But then when I sit back, I know that challenges is what makes it even more sweeter to try to win, try to go far. Like last year was unbelievable.

So yeah, I like this challenge, and I'm going to try to make this challenge happen, which is winning this tournament.

Q. You have had some experience in beating players when they seem unbeatable. Jannik has sort of been one of those things, one of those moments right now.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Definitely.

Q. What does that do to the players in the locker room and what does it do to you knowing that he's sort of looming out there, you're not going to play him till the final, but when you do approach playing a player who is on a roll like this, what do you do to prepare yourself as someone who has done it pretty well in the past?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I was, myself, I think I had two big runs in my career. One was 21 and the other was 20 wins, something like this. Well, I never thought I'd be able to do it.

It's a great feeling to have. You know, the tiebreaks like we saw yesterday, you know the serve is going to go on the line, the return is going to go frame in. You know what you have to do. You're in the zone and it's a great feeling, and that's for sure the feeling he has right now.

At one moment it always stops. I think Novak has the record, 46 or something. Still, someone stopped him. I don't even know who it was.

But if me or someone else is playing Jannik, I do think in the locker room doesn't make much. You know, you go on the court, you try to win. You know, the more wins, the more titles you have in your career, Grand Slams, whatever, the more you have the confidence in yourself that I could do it, that you can do it.

Yeah, so not much more to add, for sure. Confidence helps him, but there is going to be someone who will stop him. Maybe not here; maybe later. If I play him, I will try my best to win.