"He played only on Stadium 1, actually the fastest" - Barbora Krejcikova pokes fun at Daniil Medvedev's toxic relationship with Indian Wells courts
Barbora Krejcikova shared a humorous reaction to Daniil Medvedev's comments on his difficult relationship with the slow Indian Wells court conditions.
Medvedev failed to extend his win streak to 20 matches as he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final. The Spaniard was completely dominant from start to finish, converting each of his three break points without giving away a single break point opportunity in return to win his third ATP Masters 1000 title.
During his runner-up speech at the Indian Wells trophy presentation, Daniil Medvedev joked about his toxic relationship with the Indian Wells main court. The former World No. 1 was very vocal in his criticism of the slow court conditions throughout the tournament. He playfully quipped that his ankle and thumb injuries were caused by the court in retaliation for his incessant criticism.
"I had a pretty toxic relationship with the courts here. A lot of love, hate moments. I only played on this court so I would like to thank this court. I was giving it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also - rolled ankle, the thumb. But it gave me the chance to finish this tournament so thanks a lot to this court, I will definitely be back," he stated.
The 2023 Indian Wells doubles champion Barbora Krejcikova reacted to Medvedev's comments on his contentious relationship with the Indian Wells courts. She praised the Russian's humor and joked about how the only court he played on during the tournament was the fastest of all the courts. She spoke from experience, having competed on Courts 1, 2, 3 and 4 during her time at the tournament.
"Daniil has funny approach. He played only on Stadium 1 and this court was actually the fastest out of all match courts in IW. (And I played on stadium 1, 2, 3 and 4)," Krejcikova posted.
Daniil Medvedev looking for success at Miami Open 2023
Following his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev shared his optimistic outlook on his current mental and physical state, expressing that he feels great in both aspects, as well as in his tennis abilities. He stated that he was looking forward to the upcoming clay season, but emphasized his focus on the Miami Open, despite the potential challenge of slow court conditions.
"I'm feeling great right now at this part of the season, mentally, physically, honestly, in my tennis," he said. "So I'm looking forward, for sure, for clay season but first I want to try to do well in Miami where it's still hard courts even if maybe it will be very slow."
Daniil Medvedev secured back-to-back quarterfinal finishes at the Miami Open in 2021 and 2022, his best results in the event. In 2022, he was defeated by Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.