AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2025

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/K. Samrej

6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Daniil, well done. Your first match in a while. How much did you know about your opponent, and how do you assess your performance today.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, of course, I didn't know much about the opponent, so we had to find some matches in the internet with my team watching more. So we kind of know how he plays, and the way he played was we knew that he can hit strong, that he goes for the shots.

The only thing that usually he misses a lot. Today, by the stats, I saw he made a lot of unforced errors, but at least second and third set I didn't feel he was making a lot, because he was playing well. I only got one chance where I could break, and I should have done better, and that's why I lost the third set.

But, in general, it was kind of a top level from him, serving good, one break each set, just what you need to do to win matches.

I'm happy that I managed to stay tough. I think, in my opinion, I didn't play bad level. I played quite well and will for sure try to play better throughout the tournament.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. If you were told that success is money, girls, and casino, what would you say to them? Do you think you're more like a retro guy than a new tech kind of person?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Oh, I don't know. I said whatever came to my mind. Success can be many things. Can be, you know, family, house, somewhere, where he wants.

But, yeah, I mean, I mean it. If he plays like he played today, it's going to take time, he's going to lose some matches also, but he's gonna win a lot this year. Then you can be, like, top 100. It's a little bit of a different story, coming from challengers, but as I joked to my team, the next challenger he plays, he has to win it. If he plays like today, he wins the next challenger. Maybe in the final he gets top-100 guy and it can be a bit tougher.

But, yeah, I'm probably more of a new tech guy, but I would love to live in the retro world and see how it is, because I think I would enjoy it more.

Q. How big do you think the fine is going to be for breaking the camera at the net?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Honestly, I hope not too big, because probably, like, the fine is usually for breaking the racquet, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don't think Go Pro is that expensive. What I have to say is the cameras was very, very strong, because I racquet didn't handle the damage, but the camera did. It broke down, but there was not one piece going out from the camera. Very strong. I was very surprised.

Because when I did it, I didn't want to smash the racquet in pieces. When I saw the racquet, I was, like, Okay, time to take a new one, I guess.

Q. Kasidit used dropshots effectively today. We know you like to stay deep in the court, so do you think about bringing a technical change in that aspect?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: The thing is that he used it maybe not first but second set, and second set I was close. Just same. When my team watched the matches, they said they didn't see one dropshot.

Today it's one thing to do the dropshots. A lot of people do this against me. Not everyone wins. It's the other thing to do it like he did it. He was doing it like one meter behind the net with a backspin and pretty long. I was, like, Okay, when is he going to miss one? Then he missed one or two in the fourth and fifth set. Okay, thank you very much, because, again, the dropshots he made today, they would work almost against everyone, not only against me. Maybe Jannik, Carlos; maybe not.

But so many guys, it would work against them too. Just needs to continue doing it. Not really worried about the dropshots in general. Actually, worked a lot during the preseason. So wished I could be better today, but it takes time.

Q. You seemed to indicate on court that this is the sort of match you really needed to get time in the legs, a five-setter and a bit of a challenge, and that was, again, the right thing early in the new year?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I would be more pleased if it was three sets. It was more of a joke, but it is what it is. You are in a Grand Slam. You need to win. Two sets to one down is not an easy feeling. I was, like, I don't want to be on the flight tomorrow.

I tried my best to stay tough, to win it. Again, I felt like I was concentrated the whole match. Unfortunately, like one thing is going to be all over the social media is about the racquet, but if not the whole match, I stayed tough, like I was concentrated. Even after this incident, straightaway the game I had a breakpoint, could have come back in the set.

So I'm happy with the way I... again, I say it again, but with the way I stayed tough, stayed concentrated. That's what I want to do much more this year than I was able to do last year and was a good start regarding this case.

Q. Obviously, a three-time runner-up at this tournament. Do you use that as fuel to motivate you to hopefully go one better?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 100%, big motivation. It's finally the tournament I like, the tournament I can play well in, because I played some of my best matches here.

To be honest, the two finals I lost against Rafa and Jannik, I was playing unbelievable tennis. Maybe the tennis that I don't play every time.

So it's a great motivation to try again, have the final, try to do better, be in two sets to love up. I will take it again and just try to finish it three, four, five sets, doesn't matter. Big motivation to try to get the title, for sure.

Q. You play matches sometimes early in the morning, sometimes middle of the day like today, sometimes under the lights at night. You have had success in all those settings. Which do you prefer? When do you like to play the most?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 6:00 or 7:00. Some tournaments make it 6:00. I think Indian Wells and some other, 6:00 or 7:00 is for me the best timing. Not too late and you finish, go to bed just after midnight, which is still fine.

And you have all the day, like, I like to wake up easy, to not rush, because even today when the match was during the day, which was not early, still, you wake up, you warm up, you eat. I woke up at 7:30, which I prefer to do it later, but then you adapt.

That's what I said, like usually I think last year I lost more matches than I should playing early, so I try to adapt it with my team to be better. Today was, yeah, also waking up early, winning the match, good.

Q. For a 7:00 p.m. start, what time would you wake up.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: 9:30, probably, so gives me two extra hours of sleep, which is always great. I think we all love to sleep, some people more than the others. I love to sleep.

Q. Stefanos was in here yesterday, obviously a really tough loss and a tough period. He was talking about feeling kind of jaded with the tour and feeling like he had been ground down by the lifestyle kind of over the last few years. I just wonder if you can relate to that at all, whether you have ever had periods of feeling that way? If not, how have you avoided that?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Honestly, in a way, always. I think when you're 21 you don't have it. You just travel, you love it, challengers. Then if you get to ATP Tour, as I said, it's a better life, you know.

You love it, and then at one moment, okay, you're -- "used to it" is not the right word, but for example, talking about me, I started to have a family, tougher to go away from them sometimes.

The higher you go, I would say, the bigger the stakes, so you demand a lot from yourself. Stefanos is a winner of several Masters 1000s, Masters at the end of the year, he made two Grand Slam finals or three.

So whenever you're down a little bit, meaning losing first round or something like this, demands a lot from you, because you have very high expectation from yourself. It's tough.

I had it last year, for sure. In the end of the year, I had it. Like when I was younger, end of the year was my best time because I didn't care. End of the year, beginning of year. Now, sometimes during the year, I start to get really tired from the tour, it demands a lot, but you have to deal with it.

At least I can tell that every beginning of the year I feel very fresh, and now I'm very fresh. So that's what I try to do in preseason, take a lot of rest.

Again, we did a lot of adjustments with the team to try to have this year good till then.