"If you try to help her she starts screaming, and says, Go away" - Daniil Medvedev 'proud' of daughter Alisa for inheriting his strong personality
Daniil Medvedev is rather proud of his one-year-old daughter Alisa for inheriting his strong personality, right down to the fact that she is not fond of others for trying to help her when she doesn't want any.
Speaking in a recent Q&A session on Instagram, Medvedev's wife Daria commented on their daughter taking after her father. Daria was of the opinion that their child had the same "demanding" character as the World No. 4, which made for an interesting dynamic in the family.
"It’s tough. She has a lot of character. And it’s fun to see also how Daniil co-operates with his own character. So, yeah… very, very fun. It's an interesting feeling for sure," Daria had said.
At his press conference at Indian Wells on Friday after the 7-5, 6-4 win over Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, Daniil Medvedev was asked about his thoughts on Alisa sharing this trait of his.
The Russian began by asserting that it was in his own nature to believe his own intuitions rather than what coaches tell him, to the point that he can only fully commit to something when he believes in it himself. In order to be a good father, therefore, Medvedev admitted that he is trying to get his daughter to learn things by herself while still offering as much support as she needs.
"For coaches it's not that easy to coach me, because for me to, like, I trust what they say, but for me to fully like commit and believe in it, I kind of need the results straightaway... When I myself commit to something and believe something, that's when I go for it. No matter the result," Daniil Medvedev said.
"So the same, yeah, I'm trying, I read some books, I'm trying, you know, to have a different -- I'm trying to be a good father in my own approach, and I want that she learns herself many things, and I'm there to help if she needs help," he added.
The former World No. 1 proclaimed that it was the mentality he wished people would extend to himself — to be helpful when needed without being invasive. Lamenting about how much he hated it when others did the opposite, the Russian fondly conceded that his daughter has developed the same aversion.
Daniil Medvedev revealed that his daughter has the tendency to scream at people if they try to help her, telling them to go away so that she can do it herself. With that characteristic definitely coming from himself, the former US Open champion added with a smile that he was "proud" to see Alisa have that in common with him.
"The thing I hate the most in life is when someone, and it happens like even in player, the lounges sometimes, some coach from women, from WTA, would come to me and say, you have to go to the net more. I'm like, what the hell? That's the thing I hate the most in life. I really want to be there for my children when they need help but I don't want to be invasive," Daniil Medvedev said.
"What happens, I talk to my daughter, I'm like, If you need help I'm there. She's like me, she doesn't want any help. If you try to help her she starts screaming, and says, Go away, I need to do it myself. So that's definitely my character. Yeah, I'm proud of it," he added.
Daniil Medvedev to take on Tommy Paul next in Indian Wells semifinals
Following his win over Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev will next take on Tommy Paul in the semifinals at the 2024 Indian Wells Open. The Russian reached the final last year at the Masters 1000 event before falling to Carlos Alcaraz.
Having never won the title at Indian Wells before, the Russian admitted that he was a bit more confident about playing here than in events he has won already before given his track record at such tournaments.
With 20 titles to his name so far, Medvedev has never won the same competition twice yet. He will be the defending champion at the Miami Masters next week, following which he has a chance to defend the Italian Open.
While the World No. 4 acknowledged that he would love to win one of those tournaments for the second time, he was satisfied at the moment to stick with Indian Wells and really see if he does better at winning new tournaments.
"I don't know if it's a pressure but I really want to do it somewhere. Next chance is Miami. Then actually for long time I'm not gonna have a chance because going to be only Rome," Daniil Medvedev said.
"Yeah, I really want to try to win something second time, but until it's not there, it could be fun trying to get title somewhere I didn't win. Let's see how it goes. If I can manage to do it here, I'm happy to continue this statistic, yeah," he added.