On Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open Daniil Medvedev achieved yet another dream in his blossoming tennis career.
Taking to the court for the first time in the tournament, the Russian eased his way past qualifier Tomas Macha 6-3, 6-2, in just over 70 minutes. In his latest match Medvedev was in impressive form with his serving. After saving a break point in his opening game, he dropped only eight points behind his serve for the remainder of the match.
The victory is another milestone for the 26-year-old with Macha being the first player he has defeated as world No.1. Medvedev sealed his place at the top of the rankings on February 28th, becoming the sixth oldest player in history to do so and only the third Russian.
“It’s a great feeling. Something I’ve always dreamt of, something I was going for,” Medvedev said during his press conference.
“At the same time I want to play better, I want to try to win more. For example, the Australian Open, for sure I wanted to win it. It was really close but I didn’t manage to do it.’
“The more tournaments you win, the more points you gain, the more chances you have to stay at this No. 1 spot for more weeks, more time. That’s what matters to me the most.”
Medvedev’s first test as world No.1 occurrs at Indian Wells. Not only is he seeking to become the first player from his country to win the tournament, if he loses before the quarter-finals his position at the top will come to an end. In his four previous appearances at the tournament he has failed to go beyond the fourth round.
“I don’t think it’s extra pressure because I’m going to have some tough guys before quarters or if I reach quarters after this,” he said.
“I don’t have anything more to say than I have to beat them to try to stay the No. 1 spot, otherwise I’m going to lose it.’
“If I’m going to lose it because I’m either going to play a bad match or my opponent is going to play an amazing one, there is the next tournament in Miami to try to get the 1,000 points.”
In his next match Medvedev is set to take on French veteran Gael Monfils who he played twice in 2019 with their head-to-head level at 1-1. Should he win, he will then take on either rising star Carlos Alcaraz or Roberto Bautista Agut.
Despite being at the top, Medvedev is fully aware that there is still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to his game. Although he believes it is his mentality which needs to most work.
“I want to improve in everything. But if we try to pick one thing, if we’re talking about really being much better, that’s always the mental part,” he explains. “I feel like I can always be better, maybe learn from some of the greats because many of them were better than me mentally, in many things.’
“That’s also the part of success. Compared to even two years ago, three years ago, I’m much better right now in focusing on the match, just trying to win the match because that’s the most important.”
Medvedev’s third round clash with Monfils will take place on Monday.
