"I don't think beating me on clay is a giant headline" - Daniil Medvedev after tantrum-filled Madrid win over Davidovich Fokina
Daniil Medvedev ended his six-match claycourt losing streak on Wednesday as he registered a hard-fought win over Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Madrid second round.
Medvedev found himself in a hole during the early stages of the match, dropping the first set tamely. But he was able to eventually turn things around, coming away with a 4-6 6-4, 6-2 victory over Davidovich Fokina.
During his post-match press conference after his victory, Daniil Medvedev was informed about how the Spanish journalists were anticipating a victory for their fellow Spaniard. He was also told that they were getting ready to use a "giant killer" headline in their account of the match.
Medvedev, however, was quick to brush aside his billing as a "giant" on clay, insisting that beating him on the surface shouldn't be made out to be an achievement.
"First of all, I don't think beating me on clay is a 'giant' headline," Daniil Medvedev said.
When asked to evaluate his performance at the start of the match, Daniil Medvedev admitted that he had doubts about whether he would win. But the Russian went on to claim that he made good use of the faster conditions in Madrid (compared to other claycourt events) as the contest wore on.
"I am happy with the win, the first set wasn’t easy and I thought it was going to be where I had another 25 break points and I wouldn’t win," Daniil Medvedev said. "I finally played quite well and did well in the third set. I think Madrid is a little faster than other clay tournaments, so better for my game."
"I don't want to play on this surface, it's already broken" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev looked very unhappy on the court early on, and he descended into a huge temper tantrum at the end of the first set. Disappointed with how badly he was playing, the Russian even swiped the claycourt with his racquet.
The umpire subsequently stepped in and asked Medvedev not to damage the court. But Medvedev didn't stop even at his behest, repeatedly hitting the surface with his racket and claiming that he couldn't possibly damage the "bad surface" any more than it already was.
"I don't want to play on this surface. It's already broken. It's bad surface. Me I cannot do damage to the bad surface," Medvedev claimed.
Despite his second-round win in Madrid against Davidovich Fokina, Medvedev has not accumulated a good win-loss record on clay over the years. The Russian has lost 17 of his last 27 matches on the surface, and has yet another tough outing up next as he will face 16th-seeded Cristian Garin.