Pagkatalo sa Australian Open mas madaling natanggap ni Medvedev
Russia's Daniil Medvedev / AFP
Sinabi ni Daniil Medvedev na mas madali niyang natanggap ang pagkatalo niya kay Jannik Sinner sa Australian Open, kumpara sa pagkatalo niya laban kay Rafael Nadal sa Australian Open din, dalawang taon na ang nakalilipas.
Si Medvedev ay nanguna sa dalawang set kapwa sa 2022 at 2024 Australian Open finals, ngunit bagama’t “dissapointed” pa rin siya tungkol sa resulta ng laban nila ni Nadal, maganda ang pakiramdam niya tungkol sa naging performance niya laban kay Sinner noong isang buwan.
Sinabi ni Medvedev, “To be honest, ‘get over’ was quite easy. As I said after the match, I felt like it would be easy because I played a great tournament, I played a good final.”
Sa linggong ito ay sasabak ang Russian world number four sa una niyang torneo sa Dubai mula noong Australian Open, kung saan siya ang defending champion.
Nilaktawan ni Medvedev ang kanyang title defense sa Doha noong nakaraang linggo, dahil naharap siya sa ilang mga pisikal na isyu sa kanyang paa, adductor, at balikat ngunit handa na siyang bumalik sa court pagkatapos na gumugol ng huling pitong araw na pagsasanay sa Dubai.
Bubuksan ni Medvedev ang kaniyang kampanya laban kay Alexander Shevchenko ngayong Martes. Idinagdag niya ang dating French world number six na si Gilles Simon sa kanyang koponan, upang makipagtulungan sa kanyang long-time coach na si Gilles Cervara.
Sinabi ni Medvedev, na tatlong beses natalo sa apat na paghaharap nila ni Simon bago nagretiro ang Frenchman, “I thought about Gilles Simon for many different reasons. He knows tennis well. You can see it. He was able to beat me and make me feel not good on the court.”
Dagdag pa niya, “Together the two Gilles could discuss what was he doing to make me in trouble, and what can we do in practice to work on it. So far I really like it. We share a little bit the same mentality. We’re easy-going.”
Sa ganitong panahon noong isang taon, ay nasa proseso si Medvedev ng kaniyang impresibong 19-match winning streak, na kinabibilangan ng tatlong sunod-sunod na title win sa Rotterdam, Doha, at Dubai, at isang runner-up sa Indian Wells.
Sinabi ni Medvedev, “A stretch of sub-par results at the Grand Slams made me refocus ahead of Wimbledon last year, but I felt turning around my fortunes at the majors came at the expense of my results at the smaller tournaments in the last six months of 2023.”
Paliwanag ng 28-anyos, “Other tournaments, except Grand Slams, I didn’t manage to find exactly the fire which you need to win the tournaments because you’re going to play the best players in the world.”
Aniya, “That’s what I want to try also to work on this year, to have this ability to be able to give my thousand percent like I did in Grand Slams, but also to be able to be fueled enough in other tournaments. That’s the first one where I start tomorrow.”
Target ni Medvedev ang 21st ATP title sa Dubai at umaasang matagumpay niyang mapagwawagian ang tropeyo para sa unang pagkakataon sa kaniyang career. Nanalo na siya ng 20 titulo sa 20 magkakaibang torneyo.
