US OPEN

September 2, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/N. Borges

6-0, 6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on the win.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, great match for me. You know, Nuno didn't play his best level. That happens. That's sometimes tennis. Probably in Cincinnati and Montreal I didn't play my best tennis in the first rounds, and I'm happy that I managed to stay consistent. Third set he played better. I managed to come from break down.

Happy with my level in all of the matches and looking forward.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You know what it's like to be in the later rounds here. I'm just wondering if anything feels different this year and just where your head is in general.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, to be honest, feels like always at US Open, happy to play here, bringing my best level. Playing good, serving only better and better every match, returning better and better. It feels great.

I know the further you go the tougher the opponents can get, the more the crowd is going to be involved, and the more fun it's going to be.

Q. What was the difference for you playing him today compared to the Australian Open, which was much tighter and four sets?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, to be honest, he played worse. I mean, even by the stats he made a lot of unforced errors, a lot of double faults. Everyone is doing double faults here, probably something to do with condition of the balls. He made, like, a lot, especially in some games, it was, like, maybe two or three so this gives you an easy break. I managed again to serve much better than the days before so I didn't give him this opportunity to break back. It's a little bit of extra pressure.

But, yeah, Nuno is, in my opinion, more of an attacking player. A lot of the time he's going to decide where the game goes, and today he missed. So the game went my way, and I'm happy about it.

Q. Mental strength is quite an intangible thing, not easy to define. I'm wondering for you if you could pick one top tip or trick that has helped you to develop mental strength on the court.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I want to give something good here, but what could it be? Well, I think -- hmm. Mental tip? You're talking, like, during the match more?

Q. Whatever is most important to you.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think for me what is important, and that's a little bit very vague in general, but in tennis, the one thing that is not easy and good at the same time, and it's important to try to, like, feel it is there is always next chance. Or the other way around, you can win -- well, a Grand Slam is a good feeling, but you can win a ATP 500, which is great and you're really happy, and then you play a Masters 1000 and you lose the first round and you already forgot your title because I lost the next week.

So it's important to continue pushing in tennis. Every week we play, almost every week we go somewhere, we practice, we push forward. For me, it was always important to continue pushing, and sometimes it's not easy.

The tougher it becomes in your mind, usually the more matches you lose, the more tournaments you lose in a row. Like we saw some players after Olympics, it's tough to push nonstop.

So, yeah, the mental tip would be just continue pushing, try to not get the burnout, but continue pushing.

Q. Have you often had matches delayed for minutes because the electronic line calling went out because of a fire alarm?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: That's crazy. Yeah, I don't know what happened. It was a little bit strange. I made a good return. They're like stop, stop, and we both didn't understand what's happening. Then they told us, yeah, there is a fire alarm in the room.

I think the most important is everyone is safe. I don't know if there was actually fire somewhere, it just went off.

Definitely first time. Yeah, strange experience but it did help me, because the next two points, I felt like he started to get the momentum, and this broke it a little bit.

But, yeah, that's things that we don't control. Hopefully it never happens again.

Q. You mentioned feeling like you were serving better today, feels like over the last couple months you've been trying to work through a shoulder injury. How bad did it get? Where is it now? Did you consider taking time off to try and heal it 100%?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I had not an easy time after Australian Open where it was hurting, probably because of Australian Open itself where it was a little bit crazy matches, and then I missed some tournaments, and I didn't know if maybe I should take some time off or not.

So that was a little bit not easy moment. You know, it's like we have a lot of pains, sometimes are there, sometimes are not, sometimes are traveling through the body. This one was a bit more at one moment.

Yeah, the toughest thing was that it was more in practice. Like in the match you have adrenaline and you get it going, and in practice I couldn't practice serve, so that was a little bit not easy.

I spoke about it when I knew it's getting better and when I knew that I'm going to be able to practice it. So now, no, I'm practicing a lot of serves, and I'm pretty happy with my serve. Yeah.

Q. You have talked in the past about how it took you some time to kind of evolve your style of play to reach your current very unique style. I was wondering if there was a specific match from your past or specific coach where it really clicked for you that kind of made you become the Medvedev of today?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, the coach would be Gilles, for sure. Probably a better question to him. I don't know how, when was it that I decided that I'm going to return from far. Also on the second serve, also on the first serve.

But as I say, no, from what I remember from myself, if you look at -- what was it -- 2017, when I kind of came on ATP Tour, so probably there are videos like final of Chennai, I'm pretty sure that all the second serves I was close to the baseline, and first serves I think I was also close.

And I remember playing one time Tsonga in Montpellier 2017, I couldn't return one serve. He beat me easy because I couldn't return one serve. That's probably one of the matches where you're going after the match and thinking, okay, what can I do better.

At one moment by returning from far I figured out I can beat a lot of players like this. It's maybe not ideal 100% of the time, that's why I'm also trying to work also in practice return from closer positions. Sometimes some matches I use it.

But, yeah, there is not, like, one exact situation. It's more the experience of playing, playing, playing, seeing what's better, and developing my style, which wins a lot of matches.

Q. You were just talking about the mental push to push yourself to get through the grind. How grinding has this year been? Because we've seen people after the Olympics kind of tire out. How have you been able to get through this year?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think every year is tiring, and with Olympics we knew it's going to be just a bit more tiring because it's also grass, clay, hard courts, which usually is just grass, hard courts.

For sure, the further you go in the Olympics, the tougher it is. You have, even if it's, like, sometimes one, two, three days, then it's a decision, do I play Montreal or not? Like Carlos didn't play Montreal for obvious reasons. Came to Cincinnati, final he lost, maybe lost some confidence.

In tennis there are so many details you never know. Finally me coming from Olympics, I didn't play as I wanted in Montreal and Cincinnati. I knew coming here, try to restart a new tournament. Every time you come on a new place you want to start something good.

That's what I say, sometimes it's tough, but I like to continue pushing. Sometimes I manage to do; sometimes not. Here I'm managing well, and I'm happy about it.

Q. This year you tend to play better in Grand Slam than other tournament during the year. How can you explain that? Is that the motivation of the big events?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Don't have, like, one explanation. First of all, probably if you ask me I prefer to play better in Grand Slams, so that's good.

I would definitely prefer to play better in some other tournaments, but, you know, I had some good results, like Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid was quite good if I didn't get injured.

I feel like I have motivation in every tournament I play, and I could tell you ten different reasons or excuses for why I lost this match, why I lost that match, maybe this day something was hurting, whatever, et cetera. Maybe five sets helped me now. Before, I didn't like to play five sets. I still always answer when they ask me, three or five sets, I say three. Maybe it helps me to work out my opponent or something.

But, yeah, in general, I hope that I'm going to be able to continue playing good in slams and play better than I did lately in other tournaments.

Q. If you do play Jannik, what do you think would be the key for you in that match? And how much would you think about or try to take things away from Australia?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I mean, I will try to think more about Wimbledon than Australian Open (smiling). But against Jannik, we had some tough matches except couple. I mean, in Miami, for example.

I feel like in a way we know our game, what we will try to bring on the table, and then it comes to always, you know, this moment's deuce, breakpoint, maybe try to surprise him or not, what he will do, what I will do.

Hopefully, yeah, if it's him who wins against Tommy, hopefully we can have a great match. I know if I want to beat him, I need to be at my best, which I managed to do couple of times. It's going to be a great match.

Q. If it's Tommy?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Tommy, in my opinion, is having a tremendous year. I don't know what he is in the race but probably somewhere close to No. 8 spot.

Played him two times. Honestly should have lost two times. Managed to one time on hard courts, which is more important. Yeah, I'm interested to see what he is going to bring to the table today against Jannik. Maybe try to see what works, what not.

In my opinion, Tommy could easily win. When I say "easily win," I don't think he's that much of an underdog which we could think, and it's going to be interesting also.