Daniil Medvedev narrowly outlasted a cramping Térence Atmane in brutal conditions that left the former finalist on the brink of disaster.
“Mind can be really strong and crazy and tricky sometimes.”
Daniil Medvedev was opning about the effect of mental toughness on a tennis match, but he could have just as easily been outlining his career thesis. The Medvedev mind is indeed all of the above, a combination that makes him one of the toughest opponents to outfox and the game’s preeminent interviewee.
Medvedev began the season with a New Year’s Resolution to start concealing what he thinks on court, a move he believes helped him survive a baptism by fire in his first match of 2024, a physical encounter with French qualifier Térence Atmane.
“I think you always try to show as less as possible to your opponent,” he mused after Atmane retired, trailing the former world No. 1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0. “Sometimes it happens that you show it either because you are tired and you can’t handle it anymore or because you had too much frustration.
“But I think in general it’s always better not to show it because, again, as I say, maybe five minutes before he cramped, [if] I start showing him that I’m tired or something like this, maybe he wouldn’t cramp. Who knows?”
The 27-year-old is acutely aware that this strategy is often easier said than done, recalling an incident against good friend Andrey Rublev where he kicked a camera on the way to defeat at the 2021 Western & Southern Open.
“One year later we’re speaking. He is like, ‘Yeah, I remember this match. As soon as I saw you were kicking the camera or something, I was like, “Oh, good for me.” Not like the match is done, but good for me he is in this mood.’
“I remember the match. I was playing same. He was playing better. I was like, ‘Okay, I will never show you again anything if you work like this.’”
The Atmane match was also the first test of Medvedev’s new approach to the crowd, who have often borne the brunt of his frustration in the form of myriad sarcastic gestures. In an impressive about face, the No. 3 seed found himself defending the Margaret Court Arena crowd against the shortened changeover time allotted at major tournaments.
“I think the changeover should be bigger. I don’t see why. I mean…we are used to 1:30 on ATP tour.
“Today me and Terence, we took like 30 extra seconds all the time. So, I think it should be just 1:30. Everyone can sit down. The advertisement on TV can be 30 seconds longer, I think. They win some money. The only thing that maybe it makes the matches longer, but then some guys bounce the ball for 20 seconds, and we need to see many other rules.”
It’s unclear how long the lovefest will last, but as Medvedev continues his metamorphosis from cartoon villain to fan favorite, it’s possible the same crowd he once accused of killing his childhood dreams will now meet him halfway when it matters most.
“I think the thing is that I had my worst moments with every crowd, and I had my best moments with every crowd on every Grand Slam,” he joked in press. ‘This year I’m going to try to have a different mentality on all this, like games with the crowd, in the way that on court some things can happen, but try to love everyone and hopefully everyone can feel the same. Something like this.
“I think I try right now very important to feel good with myself, and like this I can feel good with everybody else. That’s what I try to do. Let’s see if I manage to do it.”
A weekend removed from “Quitter’s Day,” the second Friday in January during which people are most likely to ditch their New Year’s Resolutions, Medvedev, who will next face Emil Ruusuvuori on Wednesday, is fast approaching the 21 days required to form a habit. All it will take is continued cooperation from that strong, crazy, tricky mind.
