Daniil Medvedev bemoans sluggish courts at Italian Open despite milestone win
Daniil Medvedev was made to work hard for his 100th Masters series win as he got his title defence in Rome off to a decent start thanks to a gritty 7-5, 6-4 victory against Jack Draper.
After the match, Medvedev bemoaned the sluggish speed of the court which he felt was a lot slower than the surface in Madrid last time out and the conditions that prevailed during his run to the title.
Medvedev had to be patient as he found himself pushed back by the powerful groundstrokes of the left-handed Brit.
The Russian felt that he had to work very hard to get anything going in the match due to the slow surface.
Former world No 1 Medvedev is not a fan of slower surfaces and usually lets everyone know that he isn’t happy with a court whether he wins or loses.
“It was not easy,” said Medvedev.
“I feel like the conditions are completely different from last year and also from Monte-Carlo and Madrid.
“Really slow and heavy here so I feel like honestly it’s tough to make a winner and that’s what I saw in all the other matches. You need to work the opponent left-right-left-right and you get tired and your opponent gets tired. I knew that before the match so I’m happy that I managed to stay stronger.”
The world No 4 is on the comeback from injury and recognised that he was fortunate to edge in front in the match as it allowed him to play a game that suits his style.
Despite his gripe about the slow court, Medvedev was happy with the level of play he was able to produce.
“It was good that I managed to get in front,” Medvedev said.
“Even if then he started to play better, it was enough to have the margin. Pretty happy with my level and looking forward.”
The top Russian quit his Madrid quarter-final against Jiri Lehecka due to a right leg injury, but he moved freely in his Rome curtain-raiser.
“I did a good job with my team to be ready. I knew already two, three days ago that I’m feeling better and better,” Medvedev said.
“Two days before the tournament, I was going 100 per cent in practice so in a way I was not worried, but it’s good to finally [play] a match and be more sure that yes I can do it and I have no pain.”
Medvedev next meets Serbian Hamad Medjedovic after the 20-year-old qualifier defeated No 30 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(4), 6-4 to advance to the third round.
