At the beginning of 2023, Daniil Medvedev was struggling, not in comparison to most other players on the ATP tour but in relation to himself. The Russian’s ranking had fallen outside the top ten which was a bit shocking for a player who is normally extremely consistent. Medvedev doesn’t appear to have extreme highs or lows.
While Daniil Medvedev many times comes across as a player who will say whatever is on his mind at any point, he also appears to be very good at hiding any self-doubt he may have. Of course, that comes with tennis, right? The game can definitely be as much mental as physical, especially if a player’s form has suddenly ceased to be as high as they expect.
Currently,Daniil Medvedev is back in the top four where he belongs. He is clearly one of the best players on the ATP and may be among the best two on a hard court (he lost to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Australian Open in January). He does have a versatile game, however. After all, he has won 20 titles in his career, and each one at a different tournament. But self-doubt? Yes, Medvedev has that as much as any player.
Daniil Medvedev opens up about how he feels about tennis
In a press conference ahead of the first Masters 1000 of 2024, Indian Wells, this week, Medvedev was asked about what he thought of tennis in general and his answer was classic Medvedev as he was honest and refreshing in his response. The Russian said, “It’s not easy, because when you go through a bad moment and you change something positive, you feel great. Then when this thing changes negative again, you hate it.
“Last year, when I dropped out of the top 10, I went to Rotterdam and I wasn’t feeling well. Somehow I started to doubt myself, I had probably lost something in my game and wondered if I would be able to find it again. We always ask many questions in our mind. That’s what I’ve come to love about tennis: it’s always changing.”
The “changing” part is interesting because tennis players, like most high-end athletes, try to form some kind of normalcy. A player travels from continent to continent and participates in different events on different services. Life cannot be so chaotic becomes then things become unbalanced. One has to find balance and a semblance of being ordinary.
That Medvedev embraces and loves the changes might help him in being one of the better players. That shows he is mature and even-keel. One has a bad tournament and they need to forget the failure and move on to the next tournament. Medvedev seems to be able to do this and other players could learn that from him.
