Daniil Medvedev admitted that he plays his best tennis on hard courts, but is determined to prove himself on clay this season.
Medvedev added to his list of early 2023 achievements yesterday when he surged to a straight-sets win against Jannik Sinner to win the Miami Open. It was the Russian's third ATP title of the season already after victory at the Rotterdam Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships.
In addition, the 27-year-old reached the finals at Indian Wells in March but lost to world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Reflecting on his impressive start to 2023, Medvedev told reporters of his awareness about being stronger on hard courts.
“I feel the best game on hard courts, even if I know that I can play well enough on grass and clay. On hard courts I feel the most fluid. And on hard courts I can play not my best tennis but still win the matches and that’s a big difference.”
With the upcoming European competitions on the horizon, Medvedev will face the challenge of winning his first ATP tournament on a clay surface. The closest the Russian player came to success on clay was during the 2019 Barcelona Open when he lost against Dominic Thiem.
But, when questioned on his disappointing record on this surface, Medvedev was defiant, pointing to several high-profile successes in the past.
"I know that I can play well on clay. I beat Novak (Djokovic) once on clay. I actually beat (Stefanos) Tsitsipas and Novak in the same tournament once (the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters). That’s a pretty good achievement on clay,”
Medvedev also feels that he can still win matches on hard courts, even when he isn't at his best - a trait that could be more difficult on clay surfaces in the coming months.
“But if on hard courts like here, I feel like many of the matches I didn’t play my best tennis, but I managed to win them in the tournament. Clay court is tougher for me. If I don’t play my best tennis, I can lose much easier. So hopefully I can be at my best on clay court season.”
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