AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2024

Daniil Medvedev

Press Conference

D. MEDVEDEV/H. Hurkacz

7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Daniil. Back in the Australian Open semifinals. Hubi has always been a tough opponent for you. What do you think made the difference in the final set?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Tough. I mean, I knew how Hubi can play and, in my opinion, he played quite well today. I felt like the games, almost all of them, probably except 2-0 in the first set, I felt like every game I had a small chance, I managed to take it. So really, really happy and proud about that. Because, yeah, with him you don't get many chances.

Played a little bit better on my serve. I don't know why, but my serve doesn't bother Hubi as much as other players. Like, I feel other players probably don't really like me to play, I serve aces, they don't break me a lot. Hubi returns almost every of my serve, stuff like this.

Tough matchup, but that makes me even happier to win and be in the semis.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Do you feel like he was testing you at the net?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: What do you mean?

Q. Coming forward, if you know what I mean.

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: But Hubi, we know he's one of the best players on tour in this touch game and volley. I think in my opinion he would be somewhere top 3 at volley. I'm actually happy because I managed to win some good points at the net. He managed to win some amazing ones also.

But especially fifth set I managed to do some good stuff going to forward. So again, really proud with a lot of things in this match. Looking forward.

Q. 3:30 a.m. or 3:39 the other day, five sets, this one in the heat, five sets. How are you feeling physically? Are you feeling okay? Feeling a little bit knackered or what?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Always the same. I mean, 3:30 was tough, because honestly, with Felix I was, I would say 80% of my physical abilities, where usually you start 100 and then it goes down. When you're tired maybe it goes down a little bit faster. When it's hot, today I felt like right after the first set I was at 80 but at least you start with 100. With Felix I started at 80. Happy I managed to push myself and win it easier.

Yeah, after every match I'm in the locker room I'm destroyed. But then we do a good job. One day off is probably enough to feel good the next day. So far, so good in the beginning of the matches, and that's what matters. Then try to win, and then if you're dead after, doesn't matter because you have a day off.

Q. I would like to ask you about Carlos Alcaraz just in case he can be your rival. What do you expect? What do you take from US Open semifinals? Are you seeing him better here than US Open?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Better, tough to say, because Carlos always plays good, in my opinion. It's for sure some weeks you are even like on fire more, and then you win a Grand Slam. Some weeks you maybe can miss in some important moments, but he's always a good player. Let's see, because first of all, I think they have an interesting match. Let's see how it goes.

For sure, I'm going to serve myself with this US Open match, but him too. I'm going to try to make his life tough.

I need to, I didn't manage to kind of do what I wanted to do. But honestly, I know this season I was quite mentally tired, but him probably also.

Not an excuse, but I'm going to try to do my best no matter who the opponent. If it's Carlos, try to, yeah, try to bring something at him.

Q. Is it your expectation you'll be scheduled to play the Friday night semifinal, given Novak and Jannik played yesterday? Give you more time to recover?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I think it's even sure. I think it's kind of done in the schedule before the tournament, if I'm not wrong, so fine for me. I don't know if it's hot or more.

But actually here in Australia, what I find a little bit surprising, it could be 20 or 30 degrees, and for sure 30 is tougher, but when the sun is out, it doesn't really matter what's the weather. It's just hot, I feel like. Because with Borges the air was I think 20 or 21 but I was still suffering under the sun.

Night is fine. And probably I guess the way the schedule, because it's only two matches, it's not going to be possible it starts at 11:00, unless they play seven hours, which I doubt. Yeah. Looking forward.

Q. You were talking on the court about feeling tired here, feeling more energy here. Is there any rhyme or reason to that with you, or is it just, like, do you expect to feel a certain way at a certain point in the match? Seems like you were describing sort of these ups and downs. Do you feel exhaustion coming or how does it work?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I have no idea. The thing is that maybe I should dig into it more, because we try very hard with my team to put myself at the 100% of my abilities, and I think we do it. For me, the question is, is it maybe something where you have to work, like, from 14 years old till 20 years old really hard on your aerobic, physical, whatever?

Why I say it, because sometimes I see some guys, I think Hubi, for me, is one of them, and I see them play five-set matches, 7-6 in the fifth, they seem fine in the locker room. They just seem fine. I'm, like, Wow. Did he look good? Right. That's what I'm saying.

Either maybe it's a question of metabolism and it's genetics. I honestly have no idea. I know I get tired. I fight my best. We work with my team to make me able.

Because probably everyone works hard, but I know that what I started doing with my team since I was 22, I guess, or 23 years old when I decided to be more professional, et cetera, if I didn't do it, today after third set I'm done. Like I could probably retire, right? When I played against Novak first Davis Cup, I started cramping I think 1-0 in the second set. I won the first, I had a break 1-0 and then I made 3-0, but at 1-0 I was already cramping and then I literally fell down on the court and retired.

Yeah, I'm trying my best. I would love to be someone who is not really tired, doesn't care about the heat, but that's not me. But I try to win as I can.

Q. Just in terms of your service games, been broken 18 times this tournament, but at the same time does that give you confidence that perhaps you haven't been serving at your best and you have reached the semifinals? Is there anything you've got to do differently, whether it be Alcaraz or Zverev on serve?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, we should see, because I see Novak I think got a lot of broken also. It's maybe something with the balls or the court. In Rod Laver Arena, since I played it the first time, there is one side against the wind. Very tough to, like -- I think if I would not be mistaken, I think I lost all the serves on this side today. It's a very tough side to serve because unless you serve 220 like Hubi, basically it's much easier to return from there and you always put pressure on your opponents.

I'm not really too much -- sorry, I forgot the word. Worried. I'm really not too much worried about this, especially when you win matches. I feel like I'm actually serving good. So yeah. But yeah, good that I manage to be in the semis getting broken 18 times. I think that's good.

Q. Different players and pundits are saying different things about what they think of the court speed. Wondered, as a hard court specialist, what's your take?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: It's very tough to say, because the balls are very strange and then when I go to explain it, they try to hurt to make it more, to last longer. I think they didn't really manage to do it, but what happens now when the balls are new, they are extremely fast. So then the court seems fast. Because they are like extremely fast. It's bullets. If you touch it a little bit too much, it goes in the fence.

Then if you serve well a couple of games, then maybe in three, four games they become older. But if you play against someone who plays rallies, I think you do maybe I'd say six, seven shots, they're done, and it's new story and you play long. You know, you're not going to hit a winner, going to have to stay for a long rally.

So the court itself, I don't really know. I think it's pretty fast. I think it's pretty fast. I don't think it's slow. Just there is such a big difference with new balls, and after two, three games.

I remember watching Thompson/Vukic and then I see, like, deuce, a 50-shot rally, seems they cannot hit the ball, I say to my coach, Let's count the games. It was exactly before the new balls. I was looking on TV, it was almost funny to watch, you could see that no chance one is going to make a winner, it's going to be an error from someone. Yeah, that's my answer.

Q. Ask about another match that will happen before your next match, the first semifinal between Novak and Jannik. Novak is 10-0 in semifinals here and he's 10-0 in finals. As you're waiting to play your match, are you hoping that Jannik can take care of him for you or do you feel like it's important for sort of the Australian Open mission to have to beat Djokovic at this tournament?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, the thing is Jannik is playing so good now, so if I'm 100% honest with you, if you ask me who -- let's say I'm in the final -- who do I want to play, Novak, who never lost here, whatever, is going for some crazy stats, or Jannik who is not losing a set even when he's 5-1 down in the tiebreak and stuff like this, I'm, like, I don't know (smiling). I really don't know. I want them to go 7 hours 30, tiebreak 30-28 in the fifth, and then maybe let's see if they are a little bit tired on Sunday.

No, I think it's going to be a great match. I'm really going to enjoy it as much as I can. I'm going to prepare my match, but if I have some time to watch, I'm going to enjoy it. They had a great rivalry end of the season with Turin/Davis Cup, so really, really going to enjoy it and let's see who wins, and then hopefully you can ask me before the final something (smiling).

Q. You're well used to being at the semis and finals of Grand Slams. The whole environment in a Grand Slam changes later in the second week. It's quieter. Things change. Does that help focus your mind or do you notice all that as well?

DANIIL MEDVEDEV: I always like ending of the tournaments because maybe my first final on ATP Tour or second, you're like, wow, it's strange, there's always so many people in the beginning and then it's so quiet, and on Grand Slams it's even more strange.

But once two, three finals, I got used to it, and I'm like actually, like, the best feeling. You know if there is almost no one left in the tournament, that means you've done a great job, there's no one to disturb you, it's just you, so go try to win it.

I like this feeling. Yeah, hopefully I can be here on Sunday (smiling).