NITTO ATP FINALS

November 14, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Inalpi Arena,Torino

Press Conference

J. SINNER/D. Medvedev

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, a tough match. Obviously a tough opponent. Can you walk us through the match. What do you think was missing today?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, Jannik plays good. He's in full confidence right now. I watched his practice before the match. Barely misses a shot and he hits strong. Many times a lot of players that don't miss a lot, at least they don't hit strong. He can hit strong, very strong, probably one of maybe top three, four, five hitters on tour, and doesn't miss.

It is tough to play him. He puts you under pressure. You have to deal with it. In a way I didn't deal with it well enough. Like, I missed some shots in some important moments. He won the match. Basically kind of easy as that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You're always super honest. You finished your season with two finals, zero titles: one lost in Indian Wells and one in Australia. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much are you satisfied with your season?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would say of course there are different, like, dimensions where if we're talking where I put my goals and where I finish, well, zero out of 10.

How many points you get for winning semifinals? You know guys? Anyone?

Q. 400.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 400. Probably I finish No. 4 in the world unless Taylor pulls a big upset, which is amazing. Why I need to say it? It's amazing.

In the sport that is that demanding with so many players, I want to be No. 1 in the world, but I didn't play well enough this year, by far, to be No. 1 in the world. Jannik is playing much better. He proved it many times.

But I'm No. 4 in the big tennis world. I'm super proud about that because, as I said, especially in the end of the year, I struggled throughout the whole year. Every practice, every match was a struggle for me. A lot of matches.

Before I would feel I had the edge on the opponent and win it easy. Now I needed to win three sets, tie-breaks, breaks in the end of the set, et cetera.

I would put it somewhere on six and a half out of 10, which a lot of work to do to be better, but still a lot of good memories also.

Yeah, I'm looking forward for next season already.

Q. This is the first year without a title since 2018. The final in Australian Open, maybe you struggled for that kind of matches. If you are going to change something in your team, maybe preparation?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: In the team, no. But in the preparation, for sure we're going to try to I think really build something a little bit new. I see right now that it's not good enough, especially against guys like Jannik and Carlos. I'm not sure I will be able to become better, but I will try. I will try to become better in some parts.

Again, I feel like if we talk purely tactic, I feel like I played fine. It's just execution. You need to not miss, go, go, go for it. I didn't manage to do it. That's what we're going to work a lot in pre-season, to build a little bit better version of myself, which is not easy when you're 28 years old.

Yeah, about titles... I'm not that concerned. As I say, every tournament is tough to win, but I could have gotten some different tournaments. I basically played three 500s this year and all the rest was Masters and Grand Slams. Of course, I want to win Masters and Grand Slams more than other tournaments. But maybe go to another tournament and win it. You never know.

In general, I had some very good runs and some very bad tournaments. It's okay for me.

Q. Aren't you tired of facing Jannik, or every time you face it it's like a new challenge?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would say it's both (smiling). I lost first round in Bercy, so in a way it doesn't count. First time I was not in his quarter or semi, he withdrew. Not one time against me (smiling).

Look, he's barely losing this year. If you want to win a title, you will face him at one moment. It's not easy to beat him. A lot of people try. A lot of people fail. There is mostly one guy who does it a little bit more times than the others, and it's Carlos. Yeah, I mean, he's a very, very strong opponent.

As I said, a little bit after Saudi Arabia where he surprised me a lot, I didn't know he has even this level higher in him. He's maybe one of the best players I have faced. I faced the big four a little bit when they were a little bit older, and maybe the speed was not the same.

So yeah, I'm going to try to work in pre-season. Maybe at one point he loses his confidence, starts to miss some balls. Otherwise, everyone - not only me - is in for a very, very tough years ahead of us because he's very young.

Q. At the train station, when you are there, there a lot of posters. Italians are excited about Sinner. Do you feel sorry for him? Do you feel lucky him? What do you think about this atmosphere of him being the big name here?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: No, I think it's great. But I would wonder if he would live in Italy how it would be because he doesn't. It's a little bit easier (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, I think he deserves it. Like everything: the contracts, advertisements, whatever. He's a good-looking No. 1 in the world, wins a lot of tournaments. Very young, which is always attractive. He's 23. He has maybe 13, 14 years ahead of him where he can play, play, win, win. So it's normal.

I think he feels fine with it. So why should I be sorry for him?