Daniil Medvedev: Great to beat Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas in same clay event
Daniil Medvedev, who often resorts to self-deprecating humor while talking about his performance on clay, has done so once again. As the focus shifts to the clay season in 2023, he remembered and rejoiced that he beat Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas back-to-back at the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters.
Having been a top player for quite a few years, the Russian has built a reputation as a hard-court specialist for himself. He is yet to win a title on clay, and 18 out of his 19 tour-level singles titles have come on the hard surface.
Speaking about his performance on clay in his post-tournament press conference at the Miami Open, Medvedev joked that he has previously defeated Djokovic and Tsitsipas in the same clay tournament, which was impressive by his standards.
At the 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters, the Russian defeated Tsitsipas in the third round and Djokovic in the quarterfinals -- both in three sets. In the semifinals, however, he lost to Dusan Lajovic.
"Talking about clay, again, I know that I can play well on clay. I beat Novak once on clay. I actually beat Tsitsipas and Novak at the same tournament once, wow. That's pretty good achievement on clay," Daniil Medvedev said.
The 27-year-old admitted that he struggles on clay but remained optimistic about improving his level on the red dirt in the coming days.
"But on hard courts like here, I feel like many of the matches I didn't play my best tennis, but I managed to win them and the tournament. Clay court is tougher for me. If I don't play my best tennis, I can lose much easier. Hopefully, I can be at my best on clay court season," he added.
The Russian star recorded his best start to an ATP season this year, racking up four titles before the start of the clay season. After crashing out of the 2023 Australian Open in the third round, the former World No. 1 turned things around to win back-to-back-to-back titles in Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai.
While he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Medvedev defeated Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3 in the summit clash of the Miami Open on Sunday (April 2) to lift his fifth Masters 1000 trophy. Indian Wells remains the only hard-court Masters tournament that is left for him to win.
Daniil Medvedev feels he can win matches on hard courts without playing at his best
Daniil Medvedev improved his head-to-head record against Jannik Sinner to 6-0 by beating him to the 2023 Miami Open title. The Russian has been a force to be reckoned with on the hard courts in the last few years.
At his Miami press conference, the former US Open champion admitted that felt the most comfortable on the hard surface and could win matches even without playing his best tennis there.
"I feel the best at my game on hard courts. Even if I know that I can play well enough on the grass and clay, on hard courts, I feel the most fluid. On hard courts, I can play not my best tennis but still win the matches. That's a big difference," Daniil Medvedev said.
As a result of his recent triumph in Miami, Medvedev moved from No. 5 to No. 4 in the ATP rankings.