Daniil Medvedev was number one last year and he understood what sort of pressure comes with that territory.
He played last year's Indian Wells Masters as a number one got beaten by Gael Monfils which surprised many. His up-and-down form continued throughout the year as he lost the number one rank in the process. The Russian now understands what sort of pressure comes with it and he reflected upon it during his Indian Wells run.
For sure the pressure is not easy, because you know that everyone expects a lot from you. I think that taught me even more because for sure when I was 20 and just coming up, you love social media, you love reading all the comments about yourself, how people, Okay, he's going to do good, or even, He's a bad player, and when you're young you sometimes answer to them, No, I'm going to do good, that.
When it comes to being number one specifically you have to get used to many people not liking it. Medvedev, like many before him, experienced the hate that comes with being number one but it wasn't a surprise to him. Legends like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer all have them.
And this pressure of being No. 1, for sure a lot of haters. And that's normal. Novak [Djokovic] has a lot of haters. Even Rafa [Nadal] and Roger [Federer] somehow have them. You're, like, how is this possible? They shouldn't have.
It was a valuable lesson for him as he understood that he should focus on himself and less on what other poeple think or say.
And that taught me to even less care about this and focus more on myself, on my close people around me, because that's only way you can stay sane and true to you, to kind of, as I said, to have no regrets.
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