CHINA OPEN

October 1, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

C. ALCARAZ/D. Medvedev

7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, you had some breaks back and forth in the first set. A tough battle. Overall thoughts on the match?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Tough match for me because I felt that I played really well. I felt that, yeah, there were a lot of good, positive things for me. At the same time, yeah, it's very, very tough to play Carlos when he's in top form.

So yeah, I played pretty good match. I lost. That's not that often it happens to me. Against top players it can happen. Yeah, not much more I can say.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tonight the crowd's energy was insane. Everyone was at their edge of their seat. A lot of them are cheering you on. Despite the loss, how did the fans here in China make you feel?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Great. I love it in China. I love it in China. I love Chinese fans. I feel like they love me. That's probably one of not many places in the world (smiling).

When we went on the court, for sure it's a bit more noise for Carlos. When we were in Laver Cup, the noise for Carlos was insane - probably more than for Sascha, and he's German. And here, yeah, I felt that it was pretty even. So I loved it there.

Honestly, it was a fun match to play. Also, it's also rare that I'm going to say something like this after a defeat. But it was a fun match to play. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to what's next.

Q. After the game, you and Carlos spoke. What did you say?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I told Carlos next match I'm going to paint my hair blond and put 'Botic' here. Maybe this can help. As I say, today I played pretty well. I don't see how I could beat him today on a given day today.

Yeah, next match I need to try something. Maybe throw him off a little bit. But it's a joke, of course (smiling).

Q. Looking forward to Shanghai, what positives from this tournament and today can you take into that tournament?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think a lot. The hard court season, after the Olympic Games, et cetera, was not perfect for me. US Open was a bit better. Then Laver Cup was two tough losses. Okay, it was third-set tiebreak, so in a way not a real ending to the match, not a real third set, but it was two losses.

Coming here, I was not feeling great in confidence, in the approach to my tennis. I won three great matches, playing good against three good players in two sets. I played very good against Carlos.

I'm looking forward to Shanghai to try to continue this positive dynamic. That's what I'm looking for, yeah.