To whet your appetite in Turin, show. But not exactly the good one. Daniil Medvedev, that tennis player who navigates between two such antagonistic seas, pure peace outside the rectangle and a volcano inside, explodes after losing the first set against Taylor Fritz as a result of the three double faults he has committed in succession. Then, he spits out the lava with force: a racket smashed against the ground, another flying out of the limit of the court, various juggling and even a feint of subtracting with the racket upside down that he ultimately corrects, when the rumble has already died down. takes over the Inalpi Arena and people think that the protagonist, defeated (6-4 and 6-3) and completely tense at the opening of the Masters Cup, is pulling everyone’s piss.
“Unfortunately, nothing comes out and I get angry, I get frustrated. But this time it wasn’t with anything in particular, but with myself. “I get frustrated,” the 28-year-old from Moscow reasons before journalists, with the voice of a good boy and like someone who has never broken a plate. “Oh, Daniil…”, is often said behind the scenes, coming to understand the situation of ; of the legends and those who have just landed. Something broke in there when Rafael Nadal knocked him down in Melbourne two years ago when, as you know, he dominated by two sets and ended up incredibly biting the dust. So, despite the titles, the prestige acquired and the compliments he receives, he drags and drags. Too many hits. A great one, a master scepter, number one. Yes, he thinks to himself, but he could have gone much further and reached a greater dimension.
The fact is that, as he says, nothing comes of it. Since Jannik Sinner in this year’s Australian final, he has not finished straightening a course that has definitely been going awry in the final stretch of a season in which his prize locker may end up empty. The defeat against Fritz, very inspired with his service, now places him facing the abyss and, on the other hand, multiplies the options of progressing to the semifinals of the American, the fourth tennis player with the most victories (50) in 2024, only behind Alexader Zverev (66), Sinner (65) and Alcaraz (52). Also a finalist in the US Open, he smiles and rants the defeated.
“After that break [en el segundo parcial] I thought I had already lost the game. Ok, I don’t care. But I had to finish, I couldn’t retire,” he indicates while pointing at the balls, whose weight and composition, he points out, makes the game constantly lengthen and makes it very difficult for shots to overwhelm the opponent. “It doesn’t surprise me at all, I’ve seen it for two or three years, day after day. Every training session and every game is a fight. Now I don’t feel any pleasure being on the court.” He does not, therefore, have too much hope for the rest of the week, admitting that he is looking forward to the end of the course so that he can enjoy the rest.
🤦♂️ Incredible: When Daniil Medvedev completely goes crazy and puts on a show in front of Fritz!
The Russian lost in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) in the first match of the ATP Finals, to follow on Eurosport
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR)
“One hundred percent, and it’s the first time I’ve said it,” he answers with the good manners that characterize him, always generous in his answers and reasoning no matter how badly they are given. “Usually, the ATP Finals [el torneo] They haven’t been easy for me. It was when the year began at the US Open [en 2020, por la interrupción por la pandemia]so it was a little different. For a long time I have been fighting against something that does not depend on me. I’m a good fighter, number four in the world, although I could drop to five if Taylor plays well here; and it would still be pretty decent… But I’m tired of fighting something that doesn’t depend on me. I’ll see how it goes. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go on vacation and be so happy,” he concludes in the conference room.
Except for the forbidden terrain for him that is clay, Medvedev has been one of the most solid and fierce competitors on the circuit for five years. Almost always present at the final levels of tournaments, there has not been a year in which it has not tried a bite since 2018; From there, a guarantee of trophies—six Masters 1000, in addition to the master crown, the 2021 US Open and the Davis Cup; a total of 20—and a growth intercepted by the arrows launched by Nadal and Djokovic, first, and by. The giant never lowers his arms, but punishment frequently guides him towards the short circuit. Of all colors, he has signed them. There is also a crossing of cables in Turin, one is exposed to going blank and from the outside the expression emerges again, half censoring, half empathetic: “Oh, Daniil…”.
