Daniil Medvedev is back on hard courts which makes him very happy but he's also feeling the pressure of doing well.
The Russian has admitted more than once that hard courts are his favourite types of courts and he's certainly backed it up with his play. His run earlier this year was quite spectacular as he won Rotterdam (d. Sinner), Doha (d. Murray), Dubai (d. Rublev) and Miami (d. Sinner).
He also made the final in Indian Wells but was easily beaten by Carlos Alcaraz which is the only one he lost this year. Being back on hard courts at the Canadian Open makes him happy but also gives him a bit of pressure as he generally plays them very well.
I love to play all these tournaments, I played them very well many times. But it's a small pressure because I know that I want to do well here. So it's a little bit of pressure where I'll have to cope with it and to try to go through it. I feel like I have done it many times in my career, but it's going to be here again and again. So I have to deal with it.
He further elaborated on his love for hard courts explaining that his body feels best on it which is important for playing good. That's not the case for grass and clay so that's why he prefers this surface compared to the other ones.
I’m really happy because that's just my favorite surface, so I feel great on it. I feel like my game suits it very well, I feel it even [in] practice. And this doesn't mean everything, you can still lose. In a way it's easy to lose. There are so many players that want to win.
But I love to play on hard courts. My body feels the best on it. So this is very important. I feel like on clay and grass, I have more things concerning my body like I would have pain here, there, probably because I would do some shots not in a good way or something like this. On hard courts I feel very fluid. So really happy. And let's see how it goes.
He was initially supposed to make his return in Washington but opted against that by pulling out. His return will happen in Toronto.
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