Medvedev: 'I Don't Like To Live In The Past'
When Daniil Medvedev arrived at the 2019 Rolex Paris Masters, he had made the final at six straight tournaments he played. The Russian was the talk of the tennis world. As the third seed prepares for the final ATP Masters 1000 of the season this year, he has no intention of looking back.
“I don’t really like to live in the past. Either it was good or bad, I want to move on. I want to think more about the future,” Medvedev said. “What I’m doing in the present, when I’m in practice or a match, I just want to do the best I can. So in the future it will also help. Even if you lose some matches, if you work hard then in the future it’s going to come back.”
Medvedev won four titles from nine finals last year. He is still trying to reach his first championship match of 2020.
“Of course the higher you go, the tougher it is,” Medvedev said. “I want to say that even if I lost something, I for sure won something, also. I try to progress every day, and then to see, to look for the future.”
[WATCH LIVE 1]The good news is Medvedev is still the No. 5 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings and it’s not like he hasn’t enjoyed impressive results. The Russian made his second Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open, where he lost against eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
“I’m feeling not so bad. Of course, [my] confidence could be a little bit higher when you go further in the tournaments. But physically and mentally I feel ready for the end of the season. I don’t feel burnt out, so that’s the most important [thing],” Medvedev said. “I’m ready to fight and ready to show my best.”
Medvedev, who has already qualified for his second consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, has time to make a splash before the season ends. As far as how much progress he feels he has made, the 24-year-old believes it is tough to say because of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a five-month suspension of the ATP Tour and altering the schedule.
“When we came back it was [a] different situation. It still is. Tournaments are still a little bit different,” Medvedev said. “It was tougher to, in one way, schedule the season. When I say this, usually you know how the season goes. You have your preseason, then you play tournaments. You know when you go to vacation. You know when you come back from vacation.
“This season is really different. So it’s tough to compare to other seasons. So talking about me as a player, I’m trying to progress every day.”
Medvedev will play two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson or lucky loser Laslo Djere in his first match at Paris-Bercy.