BNP PARIBAS OPEN

March 17, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/D. Medvedev

7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Tough match today, Daniil. Not the result you were hoping for, but are you still satisfied about these two weeks in Indian Wells?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think it was great. It's a tough place to play tennis, balls flying a little bit, the serve doesn't count as much and me, when the serve doesn't count as much, I usually don't play very well.

So I'm really, really happy with two weeks. Today, the first thing I asked myself in the locker room -- not myself, my coach, I was like, I don't feel I have any regrets. Do you have any regrets? He said, Yeah, we can talk about one shot here and there, but in general the match was not bad. He's playing good.

He managed in the first set at one moment to raise his level. I kind of managed to be there and to try to catch his level, but I was just a little bit down. In the end, this down was going down, down, down, and he was going up, up, up. So the result is, how you say, not expected but is a fair result for the match that it was.

But I'm happy. Last time I managed to do it I won Miami, so that's what I'm going to try to do.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Picking up on what you just said, once you lost the first set like that, given that it's Carlos Alcaraz and it's the Indian Wells court, is it quite hard to maintain the belief that you can still beat him in that second set?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, that's always the tough question. That's why when the match like this finishes, you always ask myself, could I do better in the second set? Because you don't want to be the guy in the final lost the first set on the tiebreak and then kind of lost the belief.

So I don't think I did, because there are many matches in my career where I lost the first set on the tiebreak and then won the match.

But starting from the second set he managed to play better and better, more passing shots. I don't feel like I did something too wrong.

So in my opinion, it was just that he managed to raise even more his level, and I got just a bit tired physically and mentally, and he managed to take advantage of it and that's why it was 6-1. I hope it was just this.

But you never know. A tennis match is many small pieces. So maybe I did lose some belief after the first set, but I hope the next time I lose 7-6 I'm going to try to do better.

Q. You are known to pull off some miracle shots yourself occasionally. What is the effect of that on an opponent? When you're playing Carlos, he seems to always pull off one of these shots. What is the effect on you when he does something like that?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I would think it's more the effect on you when you do it. So, like, when he does it, it for sure puts your energy up straightaway. So when you pull up a great shot, puts your energy up so you feel like, okay, you can do more and more, hit stronger, hit faster and be better.

Actually, first set that's what I managed to do some points. He did some good points; I did some good ones. I managed to keep the momentum, and that's what second set I didn't manage to do. He was making all the better and better and better points.

Yeah, as I say, there are many, let's say, tennis reasons why he's able to do it on this court especially. He's able to do it anywhere but this court especially. That's why he won it two times in a row, for sure.

Q. During the tiebreak you said, Tennis is such a shit sport. What did you mean by that?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, I mean, in my opinion there are some things in tennis that are way too old. So I always said, for example, let's say -- now it's no line umpires. Actually, okay, the ball was in, I know it, it's a live system. I was, like, Just show it to me. You know, just show me the mark fast. I don't care. You can even show me on the iPad, this iPad that he has, Mohamed, I don't care. I think what happens is they cannot come back.

We're in 2024. Rockets go to space. I don't know. (Laughter.)

Things on iPhone here is what you say. And when I talk about golf with my friends, the next thing I see on Twitter is golf. And I'm, like, Okay, then you cannot show me the mark of the shot that was three shots ago? I'm not asking for anything special.

For me it's inexplicable that on hard courts when the ball touches the line, 5-All first set on the tiebreak, that the ball bounces different. Just use the same paint that you use for the court. So when the guy serves on the line, you don't get lucky to get a lucky point.

Yeah, for me, the biggest rule in tennis should be when we have challenge system -- like what happened with Andrey, apparently the ball was in. But in my opinion, you can challenge, let's say he hits a serve on the line, second serve, you play a long rally, you lose the rally. In my opinion, you can challenge the serve itself because if, in some case, it was out and the referee didn't see it, the point should have not been played. In my opinion, you can come back 10 shots and say, I challenge this, and if it's in you lose the point.

Yeah, there are many small things about tennis, but I was definitely exaggerating. I love tennis. I'm going to continue playing it, but when you are not happy sometimes you say stupid things.

Q. Good tournament.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Thanks.

Q. In tennis these days there's a crazy standard because of Roger and Rafa and Novak, they all win a billion slams.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Almost (smiling).

Q. So can you talk about Carlos long range. He's only 20.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah.

Q. Already won slams. Back to back here. Do you see him as an elite champion in the distant future in the realm of these other guys?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Definitely. I think at this moment, because everything can change, you know, there can be new young guys coming up. There can be someone who is, I don't know, 22 right now, like Luca Nardi I think 21, and suddenly maybe this year after this win he's going to do some crazy things. You never know.

But Carlos and Jannik, for the moment, just them, they already established themselves to say we are here, we're going to try to win as many tournaments as possible. Then it's always a question, do they win 9, 10, 12 slams, which is amazing, or do they go for 25 to beat Novak, which is a bit more of a special number. And you never know. Who knows?

Maybe at 30 Carlos says, I'm tired of tennis, I stop, or maybe he's going to play until he's 45, and the medicine improves so much he can do it.

It's tough to answer this question, but I'm sure that Carlos and Jannik will have a lot of slams. But until I play I hope I can sometimes try to beat them because it's a very tough job, very tough task.

Q. Sometimes I see you going up to the net because there is a short ball to pick up. Then instead of going for the volley you go two steps behind and then you wait for the bounce. This sometimes opens big angles for your opponent to pass you. Do you not feel confident going up to volley? Do you prefer that much to have the stroke after the bounce?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think that now I'm much more confident at the net, for some reason, especially I would say this year, and that's what I'm doing many matches. The thing is that here in Indian Wells, and I felt it on the practice before the tournament, as I said, the ball stops in the air.

In my opinion, the best shot when someone plays a short ball is to wait for the ball, not go for the volley. Because I tried it before the tournament, and the volley stops on your racquet and goes to the net. Like, I practiced with Casper and I had in my mind something to try to work on. I lost going a lot to the net trying to make the volleys was tough.

But, you know what? You're right, and that's something I work on. It's always a question of, in a way, what you believe in this moment. I remember these shots today, but in my opinion, if I go for the volley on these ones, it's going to be the same. Carlos will beat me on them.

But that's something I work on and that's something I'm doing a lot more this year. I'm sure I'm going to improve. Let's hope at 35 I will be serving and volleying and be amazing. (Laughter.)

Q. What exactly is it that Carlos does so well on this particular court?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think I said it yesterday but there was not many people, so as I said just right now, the ball, it's tough to get it through the air here so it goes fast in the beginning and in the end. That's why when I was playing Tommy Paul or Korda, they would hit 138-miles-per-hour serves but they would stop till when I'm far back. That's a particularity of this court. That's why it's tough to sometimes hit a winner.

Carlos, his ball goes so fast that it goes fast from the beginning to the end. Basically it's an advantage. It's an advantage because when we played some rallies today, there were not so many, but when I managed to set up a rally, I felt like the only thing I can do is hit strong but not really put him in trouble, and when he makes one good shot I'm in trouble and I lose the point.

It's tough. Mentally it's not easy to play against this. Yeah, to be honest, in second set, I felt a little bit out of solutions. Yeah, it's not an easy feeling, because you have to try to do better.

But that's how I felt and I know that, for example, in US Open I managed to find the solutions. Different court, different situation. But even if I play him again here, this year was better than last year, 100%, I'm going to try to do even better. Maybe one set next time, and then hopefully two sets.

Q. Daniil, will you and the two Gilleses sit down and break this result down completely? When you brought Gilles Simon on, I think, is it truly you asked him to provide tactics for 16 players?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 16 is not true. But basically, I would say for sure we talked about some players that I don't like to play. It was not 16. But in general, we do this before every player.

Q. So what do you think would be the analysis from this?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: You mean match or tournament?

Q. The match.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, because if we talk about the tournament, I played probably -- well, at least two players I kind of don't like to play. I managed to beat them, so that's great.

If you talking the match today, I don't know, because as I said, I already talked with Gilles Cervara just a bit without going into too much details. So for sure we're going to speak three of us at one moment.

I don't know. I don't have an answer. If we could find something, because again, for the moment, my opinion is that this court, with Carlos, tough. But at the same time, I'm someone who always wants to win.

As I said, you know, this match I managed to do better than last year where I was just smashed off the court. Today one set I was not (smiling).

Yeah, we definitely gonna talk, because even this match is good, and when we play next time, no matter which surface, to try to see what can I do better next time to try to beat him, which I did in US Open. Yeah, that's what we're gonna try to do.

No real answer to your question.