THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 9, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/J. Sinner

6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, semifinals of Wimbledon. How are you feeling right now?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I'm feeling great. A bit tired, for sure. Was a tough match. But happy to be in semis again. Tough opponent for me, for sure.

Yeah, just happy. Was a bit up-and-down match in a way from both sides. I don't know exactly what he said, but I could feel one moment that he was down physically, and then he was less down. He started playing much better.

Just happy to win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I noticed it seemed to me that you were standing closer to the baseline today than I have seen you in certain matches on grass in the past. Was that a specific tactic against Jannik or something generally on grass you're trying to do?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think that's something, especially Wimbledon. Even in Halle I tried, but it's a bit tougher because there are many bad bounces. I feel like during Wimbledon, I try to do it. Then it comes to tactics.

Like when you play Struff, when he serves 230, being close to the baseline maybe is not the best tactic. It comes to the tactic.

In general, I try to be closer to the baseline. There is this limit with me with my technique I cannot stand on the baseline itself. I still have to give myself space.

Today a lot of tactical things worked well. Then again, it comes to what I said before the match: serve important. Many sets were decided by serves. That's cross-court tennis.

Yeah, so it was something more about grass itself and something that we prepared for Jannik, for sure, also.

Q. Strange match because you lost the first set; you should have won it.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Thank you. I think so the same, but it's okay (smiling). It happens.

Q. You win the third set that he had set points. How do you explain this situation?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: For me, this is tennis at its pure sport, pure game. I do feel like first set I should have won or could have won because, well, should have won is the wrong word because I lost it. Could have won, for sure.

Again, if I serve an ace on 6-5, if I serve closer to the line. Even the forehand, I had it, but I tried to go for it. I overcooked it, if we can say.

Third set, I remember for sure the passing when I hit the shot. It was an easy shot. He stayed there. I'm, like, I'm in trouble. He missed it. Okay, we go again. We try. That's what tennis is about.

In Australian Open I think fourth set I had a break point. If I'm not mistaken, he made ace. He makes double-fault, maybe I win Australian Open. Never know.

That's why people love tennis. That's why people get crazy watching tennis. That's why we tennis players sometimes get crazy playing tennis.

Q. I have a feeling it has something to do with the rain on the outer courts. Why do you think there may have been so many five-set matches, a record for the Open Era?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I don't know. Maybe the level is closer than before.

In my opinion, grass is always a surface where it's very tough to win like straight three sets, like 4-4-4. One break can decide the outcome of the set. You do one bad game on your serve, double-fault, easy miss or something like this, and you can lose the set.

In my opinion, it's more about grass court tennis itself. So, yeah, I don't know. I have no answer. Sorry.

Q. How much did you think about the Australian Open final going into this match and even during the match?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: To be honest, more tactically because I felt like in Australian Open I did a lot of good things tactically. I didn't manage to get it to the end, but I felt like I was playing well.

I tried to do it in Miami, also. It didn't work. I think I went a little too much. I tried to use it today. Mentally it was a good match today because I actually didn't think about the match in Australia. I was not before the fifth set, Oh, my God, it's again five sets.

No, I was there to fight, to do my best. Was only thinking about it in a good way to prepare tactically.

Q. I had a look at your five-set record after the match. At the start of your career, you lost your first six five-set matches. You've now won the last five of six. Why do you think there's been such a big change?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: For me, I always said a lot of things in my life come with experience. Every time I do something for the first time, I'm super nervous. I can do it, but I'm super nervous. Like I don't know what to wait from it.

So it's the same with Grand Slams. I think first, like, four or five Grand Slams, I was almost every time losing first round, except here against Wawrinka.

Masters 1000, I took a long time to win my first round in Masters 1000. It's the same about many things in my life.

I think it was the same every time I played five sets. I would already work hard physically with my team, so I was ready. A lot of times I would have the break, I lose it. Now I'm okay with five sets. I know what I have to do, how to play them.

In a way, I don't think I'm better in five sets than four, but I try to win them. I'm happy that I managed to win a lot of them.

Q. Obviously a rematch of last year's semifinal next. What do you think you need to do differently to get a different outcome?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Just play better. It's always a question, did I serve not well enough or have Carlos been amazing on the return this day last year because he won? I have to serve better. That's still the most important thing on grass. You serve aces, you serve on the line, you're less in trouble, and you feel better. That's where you can put pressure on his serve.

Yeah, then he's a tough player. He can hit strong. He can slice. He can dropshot. He can volley. He knows how to play tennis. Just need to be at my best, like kind of how I've been today, and try to win.

Q. Speaking of serving, you served 11 double-faults today. You served well in the important moments. How did you feel about your serve? You mentioned a few months ago that you hadn't been able to practice serving. How does it feel in general?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, in general, as I said, like after Rome -- before Rome I was injured with adductor so I didn't practice. After Rome, I said, Now I'm ready to do a lot of practice on my serve. I was. I was serving well in Roland Garros. I was serving well here. I was even serving well in Halle.

I feel like double-fault was always a little bit my thing, like even if I look back at 2021, US Open, et cetera, I was still double-faulting. Sometimes I go for it; sometimes I don't and I double-fault. It's okay.

Like today I felt first set tiebreak, yeah, for sure the two double-faults were tough. Both came after a tough point, so the breath was not there. Maybe I could have done better, took more time.

In general, after the match I saw 11 double-faults, I was surprised because I felt pretty good on my serve. Look, if I do 11 and I feel good, that's a good sign because probably next match I will try to do less.

Q. How did you find the conditions? On Carlos, how hard is it when you have a huge win like today, knock out the No. 1 in the world, and then next up you have this other phenomenon?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's never easy when you have, like, such an electric match. Whenever you play Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic, Tsitsipas, it's always an electric match.

Again, it's talking about experience. I have done it many times. Especially now, it's two days off, so we're going to prepare well with the team. It should not be a problem.

Conditions were not easy today because when the roof is closed, it's very humid. Like it's very... not even humid, but when you don't have much air. So in a way at one point in the match you feel like you lose concentration because it just gets to you, like this humidity, the sound of the rain. You don't hear any more the sound of your shots. It's like something is falling on your head constantly, so it's not easy.

It's not easy for both of us, so you try just to do your best.

Q. How do you process your loss to change the outcome of the next match? Today I thought about what you did against Alcaraz last year. You lost here. You had a masterpiece at the US Open. Recently you lost against Jannik. You turned it around today. How do you process between two matches to change the outcome?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: For me what was important today is I lost five times to him. A lot of close matches. The last one was super easy. It can happen. It's okay.

For me it was important to come out today and show that, look, we going to play probably many more times if we are both on tour, probably semis, quarters, finals, whatever. For me it was important to just show I'm always going to be there, I'm always going to fight, I'm always going to try to make your life difficult. Maybe you're going to win more; maybe I'm going to win more. I don't know, but I'm going to fight.

Even if he won today, the goal was to show him that every time I'm going to be there to fight and to win. Today I managed to do it. Doesn't mean that next time is going to be the same. That's a little bit the attitude. That's the same with Carlos last year in US Open. That's going to be same with Carlos in couple of days.

To be honest, that's always my goal to know that whoever comes against me, they can win, they can lose. It's going to be a tough fight. It's going to be a great match, great for fans, great for me, great for my opponent, yeah.

Q. Obviously you lost the last five before today against Jannik and the last five against top-5 opponents.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I didn't know (smiling).

Q. Given that, does today feel big for you in terms of making a statement?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Now that you said it, yes. I didn't know I lost the last five against top 5. Like, I'm never scared to play them.

Yeah, I'm happy. At one moment I remember there was a big moment, Rotterdam, then I won four out of five tournaments. I got out of top 10. I think there was something like I didn't win 10 matches against top-10 players.

All of them were different. Some I lost close ones. Some I was not feeling good, whatever, et cetera. But I always knew I have the tennis inside of me.

Then I beat Felix. Someone told me the same. Well, you haven't won a top 10 in 10 matches. I was, like, That's terrible, but now it's better. Then I won like six in a row or something like that. It's the same.

Sometimes it happens. Every match is a different story. I'm happy today I managed to do it. In two days I have another chance against a top-5 player.

Q. You have been very close to get your second Grand Slam, but you experienced some painful defeats. What have you taken from those moments? What do you think it can be different this time?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Look, I don't think about it too much, for sure. For sure, I would love to have six Grand Slams, 10, 26, whatever, more than Novak (smiling).

I always try my best. I know that against Rafa I could have done some shots better and maybe won it. Against Jannik was tougher physically, so I'm a bit less sad about it in a way.

But as I said, it's always better to be in the final than losing in the second round against Ruusuvuori. I was in big trouble. I could have or should have lost the match, but I managed to win it and be in the final.

I try my best. I fight my best. Hopefully I can win some more Grand Slams. I believe in myself. I believe in my tennis. For me, it's always important when I finish my career to have no regrets.

I did what I did, whatever titles I have, whatever Grand Slams. Now it's over. Now it's time for something new. I'm happy about my career, and for the moment that's the case.

Q. Getting back to Carlos, in your mind what is most special about him?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: To be honest, everything. But I would think the easy part which he hits the shots. Like even today against Tommy, I just saw a little bit the ending. As soon as he had a shot where you could go for it, he went for it, and he always put it in. He was a little bit on fire. You could see it by the score.

That's where it's tough to play against him because you know whatever shot you hit, he can hit a winner from there. So you try to make his life difficult. You try to hit the shot as good as you can. Maybe he goes for it and he cannot make it.

But that's pretty special because there are not many players like this. A lot of players that if you play cross, there is less chances that he goes down-the-line winner, et cetera, et cetera. Carlos can do whatever from any position and that's not easy to play against.

Q. (Question about John McEnroe advertisement shoot.)

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: There were no tips. It was fun. It was very positively from the company and Pepperstone. Sometimes shootings can take a long time, like 10 hours for one-minute advertisement or something. This one we did it in, like, I don't want to say first take, but it was very fast and it was super fun to work with John. Like, we could feel that it's going to be super fun ad.

Yeah, I hope we can do some more. John is a great guy. Like, we don't know each other too much. We know each other little. He's a great guy, very funny. At the same time I feel like he has a lot of good thoughts in him. When he commentates, I love to listen to him. Yeah, just fun to be around him.