"Off the court, I'm a cool guy. I'm different on the court."

The tournament in Kazakhstan has received the Russian champion again. A year ago, Karen Khachanov celebrated his victory in Alma Ata, and this year Daniil Medvedev, who beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the final. After receiving the long—awaited trophy, the first since May 2023, Medvedev answered questions from a correspondent of Izvestia and Sport Express.

Prime is a relative matter

— Did the favorite status before the final help or relax you?

— I don't think it's too important. When you play in the finals, it means that you and your opponent are in good shape. We saw in Shanghai that the rating is not important. James Duckworth is outside the top 100, but he was just "crazy" (in the semifinals of Alma Ata, Medvedev won in three sets). It seems to me that the first and probably the second sets were at the top-10 level on both sides. In every match, anything is possible. Favorite or not, you have to play well.

— The final lasted almost three hours. How did you manage to overcome the excitement?

— Mute is a very difficult player. Maybe there are tennis players who like to play with him, those who can hit hard. That's probably the most important thing. He has a nasty cut. When you're able to kick the ball away from them, it's going to be harder for him. It's more difficult for me in this regard. That's why we have to play cat and mouse. The pitch was important. Basically, I think I could have done a little better somewhere. I'm glad that the overall match turned out well. If we take the important moments in the first and third sets, then I played very cool.

— When the score in the third set became 5-3, what was going through my head at that moment? Is there any relaxation, that if I lose one game now, it's fine?

— There is definitely no relaxation. This is the pitch for the match. It needs to be closed here. When the serve is coming, you want to make four aces. I got two. And the points at 30:15 and 15:0 could have played much better. One of them is a shortened one — the solution is not terrible, but the execution is poor. I also wanted to attack on the second one, but it got a little bit pinched. I'm glad it worked out in the end. I've never played like this in my life. It was cool. There are players who make mistakes a couple of times in the end, and you take the match. It won't work that way with Muta. You know he's going to fight until the last ball.

— Now you have a series of two semifinals and a title at the ATP tournaments. How close or far are you from your prime right now?

— Prime is a relative matter. I had a period with 20 wins in a row. And there is a prime of one match — the final of the US Open against Novak. Maybe I've never played better in my life. Although there were similar matches somewhere. If we talk about the semi-final against Duckworth in Alma Ata, it was an unrealistically top match on both sides. I'm glad I was able to win. If I keep playing like this, the result will be even better.

— There was a funny story last week when Sinner said that Will Smith would play him in the movie. In turn, Will Smith wrote: "I'm in." If the film was about you and the tournament in Alma Ata was in the center of the plot, what would this film be about and who would play you in it?

— Probably, a film about the Alma Ata tournament would be a short film. I'll name two people who could play me. It's still funny that at school some people compared me to Quentin Tarantino. I look a bit like him and I love his movies. That would be ridiculous. He plays in his films sometimes. Although such a short film about this tournament is too weak for him. If we talk about Russian actors, I know that Ivan Yankovsky loves tennis very much, so I'll name him.

— Would it be a drama, comedy, horror?

— Drama. In any feature film, all the events are exaggerated. I came here from Shanghai, practiced for 20 minutes, and my back hurt, I couldn't move. On the second day, I trained for 40 minutes. Karen Khachanov and I were playing. I tell him, "That's it! I can't take it anymore." It was exactly the same in Miami. Then I lost. Alma Ata has a different court, height. If you look closely at the match with Walton, then in the first set I couldn't move far to the sides. I couldn't catch up with those balls because my legs weren't working. And I didn't push off on my serve, but due to the fact that the court here is fast, I could direct it. It helped me win. Therefore, the film would have been a drama, because I thought that I would lose in the first match and fly home to work with a physiotherapist. Many thanks to the ATP physiotherapist who was here. I'm glad I could win.

"Coach wants to see me at Minnesota for next season"

Forward of the Russian national team Olairi Kosu — about adaptation in the women's NBA, personal fans and high chances to stay in the Minneapolis club

I miss my home tournaments

— You have played a lot with the Federer– Nadal–Djokovic three, now the other leaders are Alcaraz and Sinner. How do you assess the difference between them and how do you assess your chances of returning to the top spot?

— Yes, I played with everyone. They are all such different tennis players that it's hard to compare. Still, you need to rely on numbers. In terms of numbers, Novak is the best. Do Yannick and Carlos have a chance to overtake him? 100 percent. But to do this, you need to win a lot of Slams for another 12 years in a row. It's not easy, it's hard work. All five of them played cool. Someone hits harder than others, someone is more accurate, someone is better mentally. As for my chances, I'm playing cool right now, and I'm moving into the late stages of tournaments. If I continue to perform like this, then there is every chance to return somewhere. The first and second places are very busy, there's no arguing. I'm still far away from them. If I can move up the rankings back to the top a little bit, that would be great.

— You played chess as a child. Who would tennis player Daniil Medvedev be in the world of chess?

— I don't know many chess players now. Probably just Carlsen. I forgot the name of the Russian grandmaster... Yes, I Don't Remember. But I do not know their tactics and other things. I am far from Carlsen in terms of titles. Let me be like someone who doesn't remember.

— After winning in Shanghai, Valentin Vachero said that he flew business class for the first time, he wants to take his parents to Australia. This means that he doesn't think about money as much as he did before. When did this moment come in your career?

— A subtle question. Let's say I could take a private jet from here to better prepare for the tournament in Vienna. But it will cost $150,000. No matter how much I earn, I'm not ready to spend that much. Everything is relative. Probably, when you get into the top 50 and spend some time there, say, for two years, then you can spend more time on tennis and not think about it. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter — when you negotiate with the team, it's always a negotiation. You don't want to pay anyone 10 million a year. When you go to the top 50, you have a safety cushion in terms of your team and your tennis.

— There are currently no other places on the tour where the stands are 98% Russian-speaking and understand what you are saying. At the same time, you know that you can always rely on the support of the stands. How unusual is this? Did you miss the tournaments in Moscow and St. Petersburg?

— Of course, I missed you. But it is what it is. It's really a shame because I missed the Kremlin Cup two or three times for various reasons. I won once in Shanghai, I was young, I wanted to take care of my body. Then some other reasons arose. In 2022, after the Australian Open, I decided that I should play a tournament in Moscow and try to win there, I have the strength. But it didn't work out. I hope there will be more opportunities. Yes, Alma Ata is great. Almost full stands at every match, mostly people cheered for me. It's always nice.

— You have collected a lot of unpleasant headlines during the season, but you remain positive in communicating with journalists. Do they affect you?

— Of course, I'm a living person. Therefore, they can influence. Sometimes it hurts, but sometimes I know I'm to blame. That's the headline. It works both ways. I was recently asked how the new team feels about my emotions on the court. He said that the people who talk to me know that I'm a great guy off the court. I'm different on the court. Adrenaline, emotions are boiling. Of course, if I were the same in life as on the court, then there really wouldn't be any coaches who are willing to work with me. That's why headlines are headlines, and it's important to me what people close to me think about me.