Love how much Daniil Medvedev hates clay: Alexander Zverev
Daniil Medvedev's true feelings for the clay surface are known to everyone in the tennis world, especially his rival Alexander Zverev, who thinks it will be "funny" to see the Russian win his first title on the red dirt this season.
Medvedev has been in impeccable form over the last month and a half, which saw him reach five consecutive tour finals and win four of them. After emerging victorious in Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai, the former World No. 1 lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. However, he bounced back to win his fifth Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Miami Open.
The 27-year-old has won 18 out of his 19 singles titles on hard courts but is yet to open his account on clay. He makes fun of himself whenever he's talking about clay and in the past, has made statements like, "On clay, I can lose against anybody" and “My shots, my movement, my physical appearance doesn't suit clay."
The ATP tour recently released a predictions video for the upcoming clay season, in which Zverev and Holger Rune nominated Medvedev to lift his maiden title.
"Daniil Medvedev [laughs] because I just love how much he hates clay. It'll be funny to see," Zverev said.
After winning in Miami, fourth-ranked Medvedev hopes to do well on red dirt in the upcoming tournaments.
"Clay court is tougher for me," he said. "If I don't play my best tennis, I can lose much easier. Hopefully, I can be at my best on clay court season."
Daniil Medvedev has decided that clay is not for him, says tennis coach
Daniil Medvedev has a 7-6 win-loss record at the French Open, his best result being reaching the quarterfinals in 2021. He has a win percentage of 63%, 25%, and 0% at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, and the Italian Open, respectively.
French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently shared his thoughts on the Russian's hardships on clay, saying that the former World No. 1 had mentally given up on doing well on the surface.
"I think that Daniil Medvedev struggles that much on clay for two main reasons," Mouratoglou said. "The first one is mental. He has decided that clay is not for him, and he said it a hundred times. It's impossible to achieve something big when you think you are not good at it."
"Secondly, there are also technical reasons. He doesn't move well on clay. Of course, for sure, he can learn. But for the moment, he doesn't feel comfortable. It's difficult to be anchored in the ground, to be able to hit the best shot possible. And if you look at his game, it's based on movement so much," he added.
Medvedev has reached the final of a clay tournament only once in his career so far — the 2019 Barcelona Open, where Dominic Thiem defeated him 6-4, 6-0.