Daniil Medvedev opened up about feeling disadvantaged during his 2023 Madrid Open loss, citing court size as a significant factor.
In a recent press conference ahead of the 2023 Italian Open, the Russian revealed his disappointment following his fourth-round loss to Aslan Karatsev at the Madrid Open. Medvedev explained that he felt disadvantaged during the match, primarily due to the size of the court.
According to Medvedev, the limited space made it difficult for him to return Karatsev's heavy serves, preventing him from playing at his full potential, something he encounters quite often due to his playstyle.
While most players might not be overly concerned with court size, Medvedev highlighted how it plays a crucial role in his game, especially on clay courts.
"This is very interesting topic because I can probably understand out of 96 players, maybe 94 or 92 will not care about the size of the court because they just return closer and stuff."
Medvedev's unique playing style relies heavily on his ability to return from a deep position, which provides him with greater control and power in his shots. When faced with a smaller court, this critical aspect of his game is compromised, ultimately hindering his performance.
"The thing is when I talk to my coach after the match to try to see what I could have done better, how was the match, I thought it was really good match, where Aslan played good, which was impressive. The only thing we agreed on my coach was disappointing, I don't know how the match would go if I can be further on return."
He noted that adapting to smaller courts is easier on hard surfaces, such as in Doha, where he managed to secure a victory.
"On clay is even more important for me than on hard courts because in hard courts I can adapt. I like hard courts. In Doha was really small court. I managed to win it."
However, on clay courts like the one in Madrid, his inability to position himself further back limited the power he could apply to his returns, leaving him vulnerable to Aslan Karatsev's aggressive play.
"On clay court, especially with Aslan who has really heavy serve, because I couldn't go further, I had all the balls a little bit high, so I couldn't put power on him. Against him, if you don't put power, you get a winner straightaway. On his serve I didn't have many opportunities, and that was really disappointing."
The Russian acknowledged that not every tournament can cater to his preferences, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed when circumstances prevented him from playing his best tennis.
"From one point of view I understand probably all the tournaments in the world cannot make all the match courts as big as I want or some other players want. At the same time it's a disadvantage."
"Playing Karatsev on the second court, I had a disadvantage. Didn't allow me to play my 100% tennis, even if I was probably at 98%. That's disappointing because it was same, practice courts are always smaller."
Interestingly, Medvedev's experience in Madrid seems to have left a lasting impression on him, as he recalled a practice session with Taylor Fritz in Rome. During the session, Medvedev touched the fence while attempting a return, immediately reminding him of his Madrid loss.
"Today I practiced with Fritz. There were some good shots from him. I was touching the fence, so I lost the point because I touched the fence. I was straightaway thinking about Madrid."
While he understands the impracticality of having every tennis court be significantly larger, the Russian can't help but feel frustrated when his performance is affected.
"Yeah, I would love every tennis court to be 10 meters large and 10 meters wide, but I also understand it's not possible. Every time I'm not going to have my space on the return, I'm going to be disappointed because I cannot play my best tennis."
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