To hear one of the world’s best players say that their goal is just to win one match in a Masters tournament is a bit unusual but Daniil Medvedev’s relationship with the clay is a troublesome one.
The world No.3 makes his third appearance in the Madrid Open this week where he is yet to win a match after losing in the first round in 2018 and 2019. He is also yet to score any main draw wins at other prestigious clay-court events in Rome and the French Open. A somewhat perplexing situation for a two-time Grand slam finalist who has won 10 ATP titles and scored 17 wins over top 10 players so far in his career.
“I don’t think it will change, to be honest. It’s just about playing on clay,” Medvedev replied when questioned about his turbulent relationship with the surface at the Madrid Open. “I think my shots, my movement and my physical appearance doesn’t suit clay.’
“(The) first week I came on clay I hated everything around me. I just hate to be on the court, and that’s very rare for me.”
Besides his on-court difficulties, the Russian also had to contend with another setback in recent days. At the Monte Carlo masters he was forced to withdraw from the tournament and go into isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. He was the only player in the tournament to test positive. As a result Medvedev found himself in bed for 10 days which inevitably has had an impact on his preparation for Madrid.
“I feel fit that’s the first thing because otherwise I would not come here,” he said.
“I felt some sickness symptoms. It was like a strong cold, I had some nose and throat block a little bit, weakness for a few days but nothing more than that.’
“Coming back was not easy the first four, five days especially after laying ten days in your bed at home.”
In a bid to return back to his best shape, Medvedev is doing double duty in the Spanish capital. He is also participating in the doubles draw with Brazilian partner Marcelo Demoliner. The pair played their first match on Sunday and recorded a straight sets win over the British duo of Dan Evans and Neal Skupski.
Medvedev’s ability on the clay shouldn’t be completely played down as he has previously reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo two years ago. It was at that tournament where he scored back-to-back wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic. Nevertheless, he is taking a more cautious approach when it comes to setting his goals for the coming weeks.
“I always said to me, it’s always step-by-step. The goal for all three tournaments, Rome, Roland Garros, and Madrid, is to at least win one match in each of them,” he said.
“Of course, when I come to the tournament, the main goal is to win it. It’s tougher on clay than on hard court, so I will adjust, try my best and hope to show some good tennis because that’s the most important. When I show good tennis I can win some great matches.”
Medvedev is the second seed in Madrid and will open up his campaign against either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Pierre-Hughes Herbert.
