Daniil Medvedev says he was "happy" with decision to postpone his 4R match against Hurkacz, claims he played his "worst two sets" since Rome
Daniil Medvedev crashed out of Wimbledon 2021 on Tuesday after a 2-6, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round.
The match began on Monday, but had to be suspended due to rain with Medvedev leading 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 3-4. It was then pushed back to Tuesday instead of being allotted a slot after the Roger Federer vs Lorenzo Sonego match on Centre Court.
Many in the tennis community were miffed at the decision of the organizers, stating that the winner of the match would get less time to rest ahead of their last-eight clash against Federer on Wednesday.
But speaking to the media after his defeat to Hurkacz, Medvedev said he was "okay" with the new schedule. The Russian felt it was the best course of action since Federer and Sonego were yet to complete a set in their fourth-round clash.
"Not at all (no frustrations in terms of scheduling)," Daniil Medvedev said. "We were all okay with this because they were at 5-all in the first set so we never knew how long it's gonna go."
Medvedev was then asked if he had held a conversation with the referee about the change in schedule. The Russian responded by saying he instantly agreed with the decision to reschedule the match for 1.30 pm local time on Tuesday.
"I don't know if there could be a discussion, but I was happy with the decision," Medvedev said. "So I said yes straight away to play today at 1.30. So the referee came to me yeah. I don't know if I would say yeah, if we could talk about it, but I said yes."
Turning his attention to his defeat, the second seed pointed out how a fourth-round exit was a "bad result" for a player ranked No. 2 in the world. Medvedev admitted he played poor tennis after the resumption of play and classified his display as the "worst" since his second-round loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Italian Open.
"When you're second in the world, fourth round is a really bad result. It's a bad result. That's it," Medvedev said. "Played really bad today. Not much more to say. ... I played probably worst two sets since Rome."
"Hopefully the gold" - Daniil Medvedev on his Tokyo Olympic goals
Daniil Medvedev will make his Olympic debut in Tokyo in a few weeks' time. The Russian said he is excited to play in the quadrennial event for the first time in his career. He also served notice of his intention to win a medal for his country.
"It's gonna be my first time, so I'm really excited to go there (Tokyo Olympics)," Medvedev said. "Of course I want to just play good, try to get the medal for the country, no matter in which discipline. Hopefully the gold one."