AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 27, 2022

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/F. Auger-Aliassime

6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please?

Q. You seemed to play the biggest points with a lot of freedom and power tonight. In your head, the match point, other big points, how were you feeling throughout the match?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, definitely not as free as maybe it looks like. Of course you are kind of tight, and, I mean, the thoughts going through your head, like what if I lose it? I'm going to be in the locker room in 10 minutes probably changing my flight to go back home and something.

But in a way, you just focus, you're there, and at least me, I'm like, Where do I serve, T or wide? Well, I decided to go wide, managed to make it. Because, yeah, second serve is tough, second serve is where you're like do I go for the big one, do I go for the safe one? Your hand is shaking a little bit more than on the first one and just slap it and pray that it's in.

There were so many tough pressure points, not only the match point itself. I did handle them pretty well starting from the third set.

Q. You beat him pretty comfortably in New York and also in ATP Cup. Wondering what was your sort of degree of feeling like you were confident and in control of this match even as it was getting worse for you on the scoreboard? How much did you feel like you could still turn this around?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I had zero confidence after the two sets. He was playing insane, like better than I have ever seen him play, at least against me or in practice. Because, well, I cannot watch every of his match so maybe he did show this level before. Me, I have never seen him play like this. It was unreal.

And I didn't show exactly my best level. Was missing just a little bit too much. Yeah, so third set I had zero confidence in myself and in the outcome of the match. I just tried to fight.

Q. Slightly offbeat question, but Felix has quite a unique, distinctive grunt. It sounded at times tonight like you were maybe mimicking that, would that be right?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: To be honest, in life, I think that's my character, like when I talk to a person a lot, so when I have a best friend or wife, they get nervous because I start to be like them in many things and I do it not on purpose. That's just how I am. Same, as I say, if I have a new friend and I'll talk to him a lot, I'll start to do some phrases like him. I'll start to sometimes act like him and he's going to be like, What the hell, man? Why you doing that?

I think definitely I didn't do this on purpose, like not 0%. I think it's just, yeah, he was putting a lot of intensity in his grunt, and when I started to like really fight for, you know, for my life, I was, like, I'm going to grunt also. I didn't think about this, but now when I rethink, it's true that some points I was like after the point, Did I just grunt kind of like him?

So, yeah, it was not on purpose.

Q. What might happen when you play Stefanos in two days' time?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, he doesn't grunt a lot, no? I'm definitely not going to start playing one-handed backhand, that's for sure (smiling).

Yeah, it's also not every match that I grunt like my opponent, but this one was pretty tight, so maybe something mentally was going through the brain unconsciously that made it happen like this.

Q. You said when you were down, you told yourself, What would Novak do? What would Novak do? How did that play out?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: That played out very well, because I'm still young, and I have to take what I can from the best. You know, after I add it, it's true, because Rafa, Roger, they also have done it so many times.

But I've played more times with Novak, like when I started to be good, Rafa and Roger got a little bit injured from time to time so I had more matches with Novak, more practices when I was younger, and, yeah, some matches he won, some matches I won. Some matches I watched win him the Grand Slams, being two sets to Love down with Tsitsipas and Musetti in Roland Garros.

And I was there between the sets, and as I say, zero confidence in myself and the outcome of the match. I was like, What would the best players in the world do? Which I'm part of, but still young and still, yeah, very far in Grand Slam titles and all like this. During all the matches, as soon as I was done a little bit, I was like: Just be like Novak. Show him that you are better.

And it won't work every time, because again, he had a match point. Well, I hit the first serve, I could hit the double fault and it would not work and I would probably not even say I did it, but this time it worked.

Q. Did you wonder what the reaction would be when you Novak's name at the arena? You were sort of giggling as you said it.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: They booed. Again, as a person, I'm trying to be honest of course. Sometimes I cannot talk about everything, because we live in the time where you cannot say anything, everything you think. But this, I mean, their reaction, I try to be honest with them, to tell them how I felt during the match. Yeah, I like honesty.

Q. You were getting distracted by the crowd a little bit again and also the stadium screen seemed to be bothering you. Once you got into the zone, it didn't look like you were impacted by anything that was happening off the court. Is that a fair enough assumption?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Well, crowd, no, not at all. I don't think -- they were really, I think, correct. Beginning of the match a little bit for both of us between first and second serve. But then I think it was really, really correct.

Actually, I feel like, yeah, it was good both sides, I tried to pump them up, they were for me sometimes to come back. There were definitely some Canadians singing and I think it was pretty fun.

About the screen, yeah, so what happened, I don't know if other matches it was like this, but this time it disrupt me before the return they were always showing big Felix's face and how he's tossing the ball, and just before the serve it would go on the normal camera. I'm like, How the hell should I return the ball? My eyes are not ready. They changed it, so this didn't disrupt me anymore.

There was small thing with the roof where they kind of half-closed it in the beginning of the third set and I was like just either you open it full or you close it full. It cannot be half. I'm tossing the ball and I see both sky and roof. That's not possible.

They also opened it first and then closed it. So starting from that moment there was nothing that could actually disrupt me.

Q. Where is your game right now? Crazy matches here, different matches like Cressy match, Kyrgios, epic one tonight. Where do you think your game is right now?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Actually, every match was different in a way, like first one just getting into, second against Nick, the game was quite good and I was serving amazing. Third one against Botic, I think that was actually my best match in terms of level.

Fourth one, tough to say, Cressy does serve and volley. I played not bad, but it was really tough one. Today I felt like two, three first sets. I was far from my top, but also because Felix played amazing. It's always this game of energy, like that's why many times we see top players comment after an easy loss in three sets and saying, Felt like I played terrible. Well, also happens because other one plays good.

So it's all together. So I'm feeling pretty confident. Of course, I don't know how my body will feel tomorrow, but so far I'm feeling okay. Hopefully I can recover well and be ready for the semis.

Q. You look ahead to playing Stefanos and how do you also feel -- I mean, you just touched on it, but how do you feel your body is going to shape up going into that match after this 4 hour, 42 minute encounter?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I never had this experience. I played some long matches but never like four hours and never won it to be able to play in two days. It's far by midnight now. I'm going to have to see.

Again, you know, if we look at the best, they were able to do it somehow. I don't know how. But they were able to do it. So if I want to be a part of this group, even if I'm really far right now, I want to try to make it happen. I'm going to try to recover as well as possible, to be ready to play against Stefanos, because he's a great player. I need to be at my best to beat him.

Q. It doesn't happen where a guy wins his first major and then comes right back and wins the next one. How is that a specific challenge for you, both mentally and physically?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think somebody should have done it, no? Or it never happened? Actually, I didn't know this stat, so I would be really surprised if nobody has ever done it. But yeah, it's a good challenge. You know, I'm two matches away. Of course, again, need to see how I will feel, but it's a great challenge.

I don't really think about it, like as I said, US Open gave me a lot of confidence, but what I said also is that I'm gonna have tough opponents who will want to try to beat me, and that's what we saw today. Felix was really close. I was on the edge, so I need to continue fighting and try to win next two matches.

If it's true, then it will be history. It's perfect (smiling).