Daniil Medvedevdefending champion in this ATP Roma 2024, has started his campaign in the Italian tournament on the right foot, although he is aware that it will not be easy. The Russian confesses in a press conference why he hates clay so much, analyzes his current rival, Jack Draper, comments on Dominic Thiem’s retirement and talks about his obsession with qualifying.
“It was the first time I played against him. From what I’ve seen of his matches, he doesn’t like clay too much. I’ve tried to use it to my advantage because I know what it feels like. Sometimes you can play well, but when you don’t I like the surface, tight moments can be difficult. I thought about it before the match. For my part, I don’t enjoy it, but I know what I have to do. He can play very well, but tennis is a sport. complicated. I am happy with my level and eager for more,” says Daniil at a press conference.
He has never won the same tournament twice.
“It’s something very strange, I would say it’s a coincidence, some bad luck. No matter what tournament I play in, I want to win, regardless of whether I’ve won before or not. I really hope that at some point in my career I can win.” in a place where I have won before. Now I have the opportunity to do it and I will try it. On clay, I like it better now in terms of playing. What I hate most about clay is the dirt. You have to shake your shoes off the clay. You can throw your socks in the trash after the gravel tour, you dirty the car after training. I don’t like it, although I like it more and more.
Retirement of Dominic Thiem
“It’s a little hard to see someone like Dominic retire because he’s probably younger than other tennis players who retire. I’m not in his body or his mind to know exactly what he feels in his wrist. We’ve had some incredible moments. Personally, the one The best memory is the semifinals of the US Open and the final of the ATP Finals in London. I was surprised by the way he played, super strong, very well. It’s a shame to see him suffer after that injury and not see him again. the level he had before. I am sure that he will do well without tennis, he will have a happy life. That is the most important thing, so I wish him the best.
Were you ever obsessed with ranking?
“I focused on the Ranking until the final of the 2019 US Open, because at that time I won Cincinnati too, so I was rising very quickly. Until that moment, I always thought about the classification. You go from the Futures to the Challengers and you think about the ranking because you want to enter the seconds. Then, you want to get into the Top 100 to play in ATP tournaments. So, I wanted to go to the Top 50, 30, 20, Russian number one, number one of my generation… I always thought about it. I reached the final of the US Open, maybe being fifth or sixth in the world, I understood that it was the moment when I wanted to be number one in the world. When I was, I was not playing my best tennis. Now I know that it is not that important. I need to win Rome if I want to be number one in the world, I need to play Roland Garros and not fall in the first round if I want to win points. The classification is secondary for me, what matters are the results.
2024-05-11 18:17:00
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