Daniil Medvedev will get his Italian Open title defence started on Saturday. The Russian is the second seed in Rome in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and will be defending 1,000 ranking points. He is in a “relaxed” mood as he looks to defend a title for the first time in his professional career and has spoken about his fitness after withdrawing from Madrid due to injury.
A “relaxed” Daniil Medvedev says he does not “feel pressure at all” as he looks to defend his Italian Open title – but concedes he is unsure if that is the “right approach”.
The world No. 4 was a surprise winner in Rome last year as he captured the first clay title of his career.
The victory means that Medvedev has 1,000 ranking points to defend at the tournament this year.
But such numbers are not at the forefront of his mind as he prepares to start his defence on Saturday against Jack Draper.
“When I was young someone told me – I find it very good advice – that you cannot defend points,” he said. “A new year is always a new year. You continue winning points.
“Now I’m second in the Race [to Turin standings]. I feel great about it. I want to go better. So even when I lose the 1,000 points, actually I will probably stay No. 4. By this year’s [Race] ranking, I’m still No. 2. If I continue to play good, in the end of the season I can maybe become No. 2 or No. 3, whatever.
“I don’t feel pressure at all. Like, I’m feeling only happy that I won here last year, and I want to do well this year. But maybe it’s not the right approach. Maybe I should change it, I don’t know. For the moment, I don’t want to change it. I like being relaxed. Let’s see. Maybe one moment I will have to be more stressed.
“I think I should maybe, I don’t know, feel more pressure. Normally, no. But I never defended a title anywhere. Maybe I should feel scared or pressure.”
Medvedev has won 20 titles in his career but is yet to defend one.
He is the second seed in Rome behind Novak Djokovic, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz both absent due to injury.
Medvedev also comes into the tournament with injury concerns after pulling out of his quarter-final in Madrid with an adductor issue.
“It’s never easy after injury to get back straightaway to the good level,” he said.
Everyone wants a piece of our champ 🙌#IBI24 | @atptour | @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/CkQPAyhLK3
— Internazionali BNL d'Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 7, 2024
“First match is going to be very important to see where I am. I think if I play good the first match, then I can be in the favourites, yeah.”
It is a testament to how much Medvedev has improved on clay that he saw his Madrid quarter-final exit as a missed opportunity.
“I was playing very good,” he said. “I had good victories. Coming to the quarters, it’s not even being disappointed because what happened can happen, that’s sports. That’s how it is. In a way I lost the match by getting injured. But it’s a pity. I would want to see if I could go far without the injury.
“I changed my perspective on clay courts. I play better now in Madrid. I was playing very good. I had good victories…I feel like now on clay courts I can do big results. Not as surprising as last year.”
