Daniil Medvedev denies any negativity from fellow players due to Russia-Ukraine war
Daniil Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner in the 2023 Miami Open final to win his fourth and biggest title of the season.
Daniil Medvedev continued his excellent form in the final in Miami as he dominated proceedings against Jannik Sinner. The pair exchanged breaks early in the opening set before the Russian won four games in a row to clinch the first set and secure a lead in the second. Despite the Italian's valiant efforts to fight back, Medvedev maintained his composure to win his fifth ATP Masters 1000 title 7-5, 6-3.
Following the match, Medvedev was asked whether he had experienced any negativity in the locker room due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The former World No. 1 was quick to refute such claims as he lauded the easygoing atmosphere on the ATP tour.
"So in the locker room, never experienced it. Yeah, I always said that's why I embrace ATP tour, because I feel like out of 100 players, yes, maybe here and there there is going to be 5 or 10 which not even you don't like but maybe you're not friends, but out of 90, I don't know, I can laugh, speak, it's an easygoing tour and I love it," Medvedev said in his post-match press conference.
The 27-year-old also expressed his happiness with Wimbledon's decision to overturn the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. He mentioned his desire to better his results at the grass court Major given that it is the only Grand Slam event where he is yet to reach the quarterfinals.
"About Wimbledon, I'm really happy. Same about Olympics. Every tournament I can play I'm happy to play tennis all over the world, to play for the fans, to play for people," he said.
"But I'm really happy that I can try to make better result this year. That's the only tournament I haven't been in quarters," he added.
Daniil Medvedev leads 6-0 in the head-to-head against Jannik Sinner
Daniil Medvedev extended his perfect record against Jannik Sinner to 6-0 in the 2023 Miami Open final. Following the match, the former World No. 1 shed light on how his playing style hindered the Italian's natural game.
"Somehow my shots don't let him, and I don't do it on purpose, it's not like before the match I'm like, Okay, I'm going to do exactly this shot to put him in trouble, but I can see throughout all the matches that we played that my shots don't let him completely, what's the word, like expose his game, which is hitting winners all over the place," Medvedev said.
When told that Jannik Sinner considered him to be his biggest challenge on the tour, Medvedev expressed shyness while accepting the compliment.
"This makes me shy, I would say, because that's a compliment, I guess," he said.
Following the Miami Open, Daniil Medvedev will make his return to the ATP top 4. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner will regain his career-high ranking of World No. 9.