WATCH: Daniil Medvedev begins pre-season in unique manner on the race track
Daniil Medvedev has started his tennis pre-season activities, albeit not on a tennis court. The World No. 7 took a go-kart for a spin around the race track this past weekend to signal the start of his "off-season mode" and looked quite impressive on the track.
Medvedev ended his 2022 season with three straight losses in the ATP Finals, all in deciding set tiebreakers. The 2021 US Open champion recently became a father and this is Medvedev's first period of extended time off from the tour with his 10-week-old daughter. At the same time, the Russian player is keeping busy with some fun activities.
"Off-season mode activated," Daniil Medvedev wrote on Twitter.
#racing #kartingOff-season mode activated💪👍 #racing #karting https://t.co/iwgmfH232v
Medvedev professed his love for racing earlier this year as well when he went go-karting on a racetrack with Formula One drivers Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat. This was shortly after his heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final against Rafael Nadal, and he joked that he was done with tennis and planned to become an F1 driver.
"No more tennis! My training for Formula 1 has officially started!" Medvedev wrote on social media, alongside a picture of himself with Albon and Kvyat.
Meanwhile, Medvedev had a bittersweet 2022 season-ending run. He reached the semifinals at the Astana Open and won the Vienna Open before losing four consecutive matches - at the Paris Masters and ATP Finals.
The 26-year-old will return to the tennis court sooner rather than later as he is set to play in the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition tournament from December 8.
"I'm a really happy person in my life right now" - Daniil Medvedev on his mindset
Daniil Medvedev recently opened up about his personal life and expressed that the experience of fatherhood has brought him great happiness in life. Medvedev also spoke about the special experience that has given him only "good emotions." He joked that he now understands what people meant when they told him he would cherish fatherhood entirely only after becoming a father.
"I'm a really happy person in my life right now with only good emotion. The experience is amazing. That's what many, many people told me: that I can only understand this when I'll have a baby. And now, I can completely understand. So this is a lot of fun," Daniil Medvedev in a recent interview for the Diriyah Tennis Cup.
Medvedev also won the Los Cabos Open in August and reached three other tour-level finals, at the Australian Open, Libema Open, and Halle Open. The Russian bowed out in the 4th round at both the French Open and US Open, while he missed Wimbledon due to a ban on Russian and Belarusian players.