US OPEN

September 5, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

J. SINNER/D. Medvedev

6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, if you would, your thoughts on the match.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, tough loss. Was definitely not happy with the way I played, like, in general, because there were some very good moments and some not so good.

So in general it's tough feeling when you come out, and at the end it's rare that I get tight, but in the end I got super tight. Because when I was missing I didn't feel why I was missing, so I couldn't correct it, and then I got super tight at the end, and it was a little, yeah, even tougher.

Not easy feeling, not happy with myself, but that's tennis, it's okay. I lost, I go home.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. It was obviously a very topsy-turvy match with a lot of momentum swings. How did you experience that on the court? Why do you feel it was that way?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: That's the thing in tennis, sometimes you don't know the exact reason. So it could be anything. I mean, he's playing good. Could be his actual ball, his ball striking. It could be many different things. I don't have an answer yet, and I probably won't have, why exactly it happened.

Definitely, yeah, the momentum swings, I would say if I look for the positive, the first set was horrible for me. I think almost even probably worse than the third one. I managed to solve a lot of problems in the second set. Played better. Same in the fourth set, like I managed to start solving some problems that I had in the third set. So that's like the positive things.

The negative one is that finally I didn't solve them till then, and it's always better to not solve them and not have them at all.

Yeah, so I don't know why exactly, but not the best match from my side. I actually think not the best from his also, a little bit missing here and there. But he won, so yeah, he was better.

Q. It almost looked like you were playing well and he wasn't and vice versa. There was kind of this up-and-down. Do you think that the way that you were playing and the way he was playing was affecting each other's level?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, I don't think so. I think the other, like, theory I have is that here I saw it in practice the week before the tournament, balls, courts, not easy. It was the same in Montreal, Cincinnati, it's not super easy to control them. So sometimes you feel like you're doing all good and then you miss and then you have question marks, et cetera.

But before I played maybe I was more like confident with myself that, you know, I will win this match even if I miss some shots. So maybe today I was going for a little bit more risky shots, I was missing just a bit more. As I said, one moment I kind of got lost in my misses. Maybe it was the same for him a little bit, because I still managed to many times put him in trouble even if it was not enough.

So that's another theory I have.

Q. I just wondered how you look at your Grand Slam year as a whole and where you think you're at relative to Carlos, Jannik, and Novak?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Grand Slam year was pretty good. I mean, you know, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, not the easiest for me tournaments. Quite good results, you know, fourth round, semis. For sure Australian Open and US Open, like, I have big hopes. I finally lost actually to the same guy in both of them.

But considering many like details coming into here without confidence after Montreal, Cincinnati, Australian Open, tried to play straightaway Australian Open and almost won it with some crazy comebacks, I feel like it was a good Grand Slam year. I should have probably done better in other tournaments than the Grand Slam, but I still have the chance, I still have maybe like four, five tournaments left.

Yeah, that's where I should look now.

Q. You played Jannik three of the four slams this year, and each time it went at least four sets. How would you describe the experience of facing him at the moment?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's tough. I mean, he's one of the best players in the world, by ranking the best one, and he deserves it. He's a tough player to play against. He feels the game well. He chooses the right shot at the right moment many times, and that's where I actually like to play players like this because that's where it gets very, you know, tight in a way where every point matters and then the breakpoint you're trying to think what does he do on this breakpoint and how you can counter it.

I feel like, yeah, all the matches were interesting in their own way, the crowd likes it, I think. Yeah, will be happy to play more against him in Grand Slams.

Q. Do you feel now that you have these kind of new younger rivals rising up that you want to use this offseason to focus on preparation for these players in particular, and if so, what's that look like?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would love to say yes, but usually the offseason is, like, two weeks. The only thing I know is that actually it's true that usually after preseason I start the season good, because that's the only time during the year where you have, like -- well, I said two weeks -- but sometimes it can be three, where it's like full three weeks of full preparation for something, which we don't have during the year. During the year, the maximum you can have is maybe two when there is no Olympic Games, before, like, after Wimbledon. And still, it's a bit different.

I always work hard. And, I mean, guys, there were always tough guys. Before it was like Rafa, Roger, Novak; now is Carlos, Jannik, some other guys. Just have to practice hard, try to improve your game and try to beat them.

Q. What are your thoughts on the rivalry you have with Jannik?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Lately tough one for me, but at the same time, honestly today, comparing to some matches I played with him last year when he started to beat me, I felt like I was doing the right things. I just didn't manage to execute them well. So I feel like the match itself, like, he was doing the right thing and I was doing the right thing. So I feel like we both come out of this match thinking, okay, now I feel what he does. Well, the only thing is that I lost and he won. So he will be feeling better.

I like it. You know, to have big rivalries like this always push me to be better, and sometimes I lose; sometimes I win.

I will try to be better next time, and that's the only thing I can do.