“On clay, the toughest thing for me is the movement” – Medvedev looks to try and play well in Madrid

Daniil Medvedev‘s struggles on clay have been well documented. The Russian has won 18 of his 19 career singles titles on hardcourts and one on grass and has been a non-factor during the clay court seasons in the past.

Slowly that has begun to change. Medvedev reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros in 2021 and the fourth round last year. He started his 2023 clay campaign by reaching the last eight in Monte-Carlo and arrives at the Madrid Masters this week with the hopes of continuing to find his feet on the red dirt.

“My biggest expectation is to try to play well, getting the feeling of taking control of the game and putting my opponent in trouble. Even on clay when I play well, I feel capable of beating great guys, playing good tennis and going far in tournaments, like in Monte-Carlo this year”, Medvedev said as per the tournament website. “It’s time to fix some small things, make small adjustments and try to play better. Because of the altitude, maybe I can play better in Madrid than in other clay court tournaments. Every year is a new opportunity, this year is another one and I’m going to try to just play my best.”

“I’m still trying to learn to slide right because I lose five seconds after every shot” – Medvedev

The Russian admitted that moving on clay remains a challenge for him and he is still learning how to slide on the surface to enable him to perform better.

“On clay, the toughest thing for me is the movement. I like to move on hard courts and run in front of the ball in long rallies, but on clay that’s not the case. I’m still trying to learn to slide right because I lose five seconds after every shot”, said the Russian, who is back up to No 3 in the rankings.

The 2023 ATP-match wins leader begins his Madrid campaign this year on Friday with a second round clash against either former world No 1 Andy Murray or Italian Andrea Vavassori.

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