"She sleeps like an adult, so we can sleep well" - Daniil Medvedev opens up about life on tour as a father, traveling with his daughter Alisa, & more
Daniil Medvedev became the first ATP player in 2023 to win three titles in three weeks, following up his triumphs in Rotterdam and Doha with another title run at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Taking on compatriot Andrey Rublev in the final, the Russian scored a 6-2, 6-2 win to score the 18th title of his career -- all of which have come in different cities.
Speaking to the press afterwards, Medvedev touched upon how difficult it has been to adapt to the tour as a parent. The Russian recently became a father for the first time after his wife Daria gave birth to their daughter Alisa in October last year,
The World No. 7 joked that his daughter is a really sound sleeper, meaning that he and wife were also able to sleep soundly at night. If not, Medvedev continued, it would have been harder to travel with his family as regularly as he does.
"First of all our baby is really, really calm, so she sleeps a lot. She sleeps like an adult, so we can sleep well. If she would be not like this, I don't think it would be possible to travel with her. So, yeah, she's such a sweet kid, so it didn't change much," Medvedev said.
The 27-year-old further added that it has been a lot of fun for him to have his daughter beside him in Dubai, thinking of her as a good-luck charm who will lead him on to more titles together in the future.
"I'm preparing as I am. Actually I was playing in Doha and Dubai only night, so I didn't see one time how she's sleeping. I'm leaving the hotel at probably 1," Daniil Medvedev said.
"Spend the morning with her, all fun and easy, then I see her the next morning because I'm finishing so late. It was just a lot of fun to have her with us here. Hopefully a lot more titles together."
"When I knew I'm becoming a father, that was one of the first books I read probably in years" - Daniil Medvedev on getting back into reading after becoming a father
Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Dubai, runner-up Andrey Rublev commented that Daniil Medvedev was a big reader. However, that statement is no longer true, according to Medvedev.
Probed about the same in the press conference, the World No. 7 admitted that he was a big reader when he was young but that it is, unfortunately, not the case anymore.
"I don't know why he said it because I was reading a lot when I was a kid," Daniil Medvedev said.
"Maybe that's why I know how to speak well and to say my thoughts because that's important. Everybody can think a lot, but it's important to be able to transfer it into words and to say it to other people."
However, he revealed that he had gotten back into it once again, especially after learning that he was about to become a father. Medvedev was not certain he successfully grasped the concept of the book he picked up - something about helping understand how to translate kids' signals into words.
However, he was proud of himself for having completed a book after a long time.
"I will be honest, I don't read a lot right now. Almost not at all. When I knew I'm becoming a father, that was one of the first books I read probably in years," Daniil Medvedev said.
"It was about kids, trying to understand a little bit when they're born what they going to do, what's going to happen, maybe how you can try to translate their signals into words.
"I'm not sure I succeeded, but I did read it. Yeah, I will be honest, I don't have much time to read. If I have this free time, I use it differently."