"No more whining, complaining and acting like the victim" - Daniil Medvedev's attitude during Qatar Open win impresses leading sports journalist
American leading sports journalist Steve Flink thinks that Daniil Medvedev's attitude was "good" during his Qatar Open title win.
The World No. 8 won the Qatar Open on Centre Court on Saturday (February 25), defeating former World No.1 Andy Murray in straight sets. Medvedev won the match in one hour and 47 minutes, 6-4, 6-4.
In doing so, the Russian became the first player to have won back-to-back ATP titles in 2023. The 27-year-old entered the tournament after defeating Jannik Sinner in the final of the ATP Rotterdam.
Speaking about Medvedev on a recent episode of the Court-Side with Bellinson Tennis podcast, journalist Steve Flink stated that the Russian's attitude had changed for the better and that he wasn't looking over at his coach and wife and "whining and complaining and acting like the victim."
"What I liked most about him wasn't just that he put back the brick wall on the back of the court and said 'You are not getting anything out of my reach and I am giving you nothing', but that he, his attitude was so good, it was no more this kinda looking over his coach, his wife and whining and complaining and acting like the victim," Flink said.
Flink went on to say that even though Daniil Medvedev wasn't happy with the ball at the Qatar Open, he didn't let that deter him from winning and that it would be "interesting" to watch him now that he has returned to the "winning mode."
"He just got over that and he said after the final that he wasn't happy with the balls, now this is not somebody who is complaining, he just won the title. But they changed the balls. He didn't like them for whatever the reasons and yet obviously didn't let that get into his way. It's going to be interesting to follow him now that he has got himself back in kind of a winning mode," he added.
"This is a nice turnaround for Daniil Medvedev, he seems to be reacquiring the habit of winning" - Steve Flink
Further speaking about Daniil Medvedev, Steve Flink said that the win was a turnaround for the Russian, who appears to be "reacquiring" his winning habit after losing in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open and performing poorly in the 2022 ATP Finals.
"This is a nice turnaround for him after losing the quarter at the Australian Open. He hadn't had a good end of last year, he didn't win a match of the year end championships despite going to a final set tie-break in all three of his clashes. So now he seems to be reacquiring the habit of winning," Flink opined.
The Russian will next compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships scheduled to start on February 28.