"What if I get up at the ballet and start yelling?"

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev performed in his homeland for the first time in five years, playing at the international team tournament "Trophies of Northern Palmyra", which took place on November 29-30 in St. Petersburg. The former world number one was in high demand from fans and journalists, but in a difficult schedule he found time to answer questions from Izvestia and Sport-Express, sharing his expectations for the next season and recalling the main moments of the past.

"I got high from such an atmosphere. I thought: "I wish it was like that at tennis"

— At the press conference, you said that St. Petersburg has managed to complete a rich cultural program. Could you share the details?

— We visited a number of museums, visited the most important cathedrals of the city, even went to the theater.

— What do you remember most?

— A couple of days before the start of the tournament, we attended the ballet "Pharaoh's Daughter" at the Mariinsky Theater. Interesting, I really liked it. And while watching, I had this thought. Now tennis is trying to introduce as many elements of the show as possible. To increase the number of people who could talk, drink, and eat in the stands. But for me, tennis has always been a special sport. Okay, the show is important, but between draws everything should be quiet and calm, the fans should not make noise, shouting arm in arm during the serve. So that the tennis player can maintain full concentration. But many experts disagree with this. They explain this by saying that the world has changed a lot. And if tennis doesn't turn into a full-fledged show, then we'll start losing the audience.

So, going back to ballet. While watching, I thought: what if I get up now and start yelling? Ballet is also a show, isn't it? I want a show, I want to get people excited. But that's not how it works, because there is a certain respect for the profession of artists. I also noticed that no one was on their phones during the performance. It's nice to watch this, I got high from such an atmosphere. I thought: "I wish it was like that at tennis."

— You haven't been to Moscow for a long time. Will you be able to stop by and visit your friends this time?

— Unfortunately, no. We thought about how to combine them, but it didn't work out. My wife will go to Moscow, and I will train. Preparing for the season with a new team is definitely a different story. The past year has been imperfect. To put it mildly. We need to catch up.

— Is it possible to draw the first conclusions about working with the new team?

— Yes, it's been three months already. The only thing is, we didn't have a lot of work outside of tournaments — I played six in a row, and before that, it was only a week and a half since we joined the team. Therefore, the main work will be now, but everything went great in the interim. I am glad that I am playing tennis again, which allows me to beat the opponents I lost to at the beginning and in the middle of last season.

We initially agreed with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Götzke that this was a trial period until the end of the year. We all like everything, and we keep working. Therefore, the next season will be more interesting: both they and I have more expectations. Let's see what happens.

— Could you name the happiest moment of the season and the most unpleasant?

— There were several happy ones. We need to remember the title in Alma Ata. Of course, I think it's more important to play in the final of the Masters or a Grand Slam tournament, which I didn't have this year, than to be the best at the ATP 250 tournament. But it's still a trophy. Especially in 2024, I have no victorious finals (I suffered defeats in decisive matches at the Australian Open from Sinner and in Indian Wells from Alcaraz. — Ed.). Plus, we went to Kazakhstan for the first time for competitions with the whole family.

And the worst part is that I've had a lot of bad matches. I can't choose one. If we talk about the worst tournament, then, probably, I will name the US Open. It was after him that the changes in the team began. It was necessary to change something both in myself and around me. Because the match was really tough on all fronts (I lost to Benjamin Bonzi in five sets. — Ed.). We must forget all this and go with renewed vigor into 2026.

— Is there any pressure on you that you didn't perform very well at the Grand Slam tournaments in 2025, winning only one match? Against this background, are you not afraid of the Australian Open-2026?

— Everything is relative. I know exactly how it works. One strong result on the Slams is enough, and all the pressure will go away. At the same time, I looked pretty good at the Masters. If I'm not mistaken, I finished seventh in points at the ATP 1000 tournaments this year. Therefore, I approach the start of the new season exclusively with a positive attitude.

I know how to play Grand Slam tournaments. I always get a special pleasure from it. Yes, it didn't work out very well this year, I will try to prove myself next year.

Russians and Medvedev: how was the tennis superstar's return to Russia

The most decorated Russian player performed in his native country for the first time in five years

"Security starts pushing fans away, and you can't sign because the crowd is carrying you out."

— Let's talk a little bit about the Trophies of Northern Palmyra tournament. Your best in the Northern Capital?

— The first thing that comes to mind is the final of the St. Petersburg Open 2019, when Borna Choric confidently defeated him. Back then, he played great not only in the decisive match, but also throughout the tournament (he passed Evgeny Donskoy, Andrey Rublev and Egor Gerasimov, who defeated Matteo Berrettini at that tournament. — Ed.). The second one is the match against Sasha Bublik. It was his first meeting on the ATP tour. I did 6:4, 6:0, and that's a great memory (laughs).

— What emotions did the tournament bring this time?

— I haven't been to St. Petersburg since 2020, so it's nice to be back here. I love this city. I've always liked the organization at the St. Petersburg Open, and considering that the "Trophies of Northern Palmyra" are made by the same people, everything turned out to be at the highest level again. Many thanks to Alexander Medvedev for this, who assembled a cool team and created excellent conditions for us. As a result, everyone enjoyed these days.

I hope we were able to please the spectators who filled the stands. Let's see, hopefully we'll be able to come back next year. Everything will depend, of course, on the season. For several years in a row, I thought about coming to St. Petersburg, but it didn't work out. I went far in the Final, but last year my wife was pregnant, so the trip was impossible. Now I am glad to play in Russia again in front of my fans.

— How do you like the format of the competitions in the Northern Capital?

— It's good that the exhibition tournaments use innovations. We'll still have time to play with Karen, Sasha, and Tallon in the usual three/five set mode. Maybe even at the Australian Open. But here is another story. The audience and the television know when the match will end (each set lasted for 20 minutes, the sides change after 10 minutes. — Ed.). Plus, if someone won the first two sets, the third game is also very important because of the total number of team games. It is interesting. If the organizers come up with another innovation next year, that's great. We will do it.

— You have signed countless autographs in St. Petersburg. The fans literally wouldn't let you through. There were very long queues for you at the autograph session. Where have you met the craziest fans, in a good way?

— I'll name China— especially Shanghai. There are a lot of courts and a lot of space. But if Novak Djokovic, myself, Carlos Alcaraz or Yannick Sinner are training, then it becomes very small, because people come to watch our classes hoping to get an autograph after that. And the madness begins, the crush begins — the guards are having a hard time coping with the situation.

In St. Petersburg, I am surprised by the similar interest in tennis players. I was giving an interview in the studio "More!", and hundreds of fans were lined up around. It's clear that you want to sign balls and photos to everyone, but everyone immediately starts pushing. I'm trying to convey that if they don't do this, I'll sign up for more people. And it turns out that the security guards start pushing the fans away and you can't sign because the crowd is carrying you to the exit.