“I never thought I could achieve such a big and important victory on clay” – Medvedev

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev said that he is experiencing strong emotions after winning the clay tournament for the first time in his career.

Medvedev defeated Dane Holger Rune 7:5, 7:5 in the final of the Masters tournament. For the Russian, this is the first title in a clay tournament, the fifth in 2023 and the 20th in his career. On Monday, the 27-year-old tennis player climbed to second place in the world rankings.

– You won the US Open, won 19 titles in singles, but won on clay for the first time. Can you compare feelings?

– They are much stronger. Honestly, I never thought that I could achieve such a big and important victory on clay. On this surface, I didn’t feel very well, I never hid it. So happy and satisfied that we managed to win. This is team work. Emotions are indescribable.

– In April, you lost to Runa in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Monte Carlo, taking only seven games. Did you draw any conclusions after that defeat?

– Rune is generally very good, and the ground is his favorite surface. He’s hard to play with, Holger is an incredibly gifted guy. After Monte Carlo, we discussed some points with the coach, tried to understand where and what could be improved. As you can see, these changes paid off.

– The victory in Rome is probably also especially pleasant for you because during the tournament you beat your principal opponents – Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas?

Yes, we have been competing with them for a long time. We had different matches – both dramatic and difficult. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost. It’s always nice to play with them, but a title is a title. Even if they were not in my way, I would still be happy to win the trophy. It’s just that there is such a moment that both Zverev and Tsitsipas play great on clay. For Tsitsipas, this is generally a favorite surface, and Sasha Zverev won many titles on clay, he was always good at Roland Garros. So I’m glad to win here, defeating very strong tennis players along the way, ”Rossiyskaya Gazeta quotes Medvedev as saying.