Daniil Medvedev faces the Mallorca Championship with great enthusiasm, his last test before competing at Wimbledon next week, and where he wants to put his gray clay season behind him despite reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
At the press conference prior to his debut at the Mallorca Championships, Medvedev showed his enthusiasm for playing on grass again, a surface that he likes. “I like grass more than clay, I just need more confidence in my game on this surface, because I haven't played for two years. Two years ago I wasn't the player I am now. It's hard for me to say where I look, but I know I can play very well on this surface, I just need to find the right balance. “
Following his defeat in Halle to Jan-Lennard Struff, Medvedev arrives in Mallorca with the intention of catching more filming for Wimbledon. “ANDn Halle I had three days of training and it wasn't enough to feel good. I lost my first game to a great player, and that was not easy. That is why I decided to come to Mallorca and be able to play a few more games. “
The Russian also emphasized the differences when it comes to playing on grass and highlighted the change that involves playing on an outside court to doing it on a center court of this surface. “When I started playing grass I did it in Challengers and on the ATP Tour I also played on the outdoor courts, not on the center courts. I can say that the center courts are slower. In the game I played with Gilles Simon at Queen's We had exchanges of forty strokes at every second point, that makes it tougher. When I train on the courts, I feel like I play well and that the ball is going fast. However, when I go to play center court and the ball stops after the bounce, you have to adapt your game, and that is very hard, but I know I can play very well on grass. “
Finally, Medvedev cites as an example of his presence in Mallorca the Belgrade tournament played by Novak Djokovic before Roland Garros, where the Serbian finally emerged as champion despite not having a break between both competitions. “It's a very strong track. Everybody was saying to Novak Djokovic: 'Why are you going to Belgrade the week before Roland Garros?' But he gained a lot of confidence there. I don't think he played his best tennis there, but he went and destroyed everyone at Roland Garros. I think sometimes it's good to prepare before a Grand Slam and win several matches. “