Daniil Medvedev says he has gone through tougher moments in his career after losing his opening match at the Canadian Masters in Montreal.
The 2021 champion led the in-form Nick Kyrgios by a set before falling 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2, to the Australian. Making it the first time he has lost his opening match at a tournament since Geneva in May. Coming into this week Medvedev was gaining confidence after lifting the Los Cabos Open title but seemed to implode during the later stages of his most recent encounter on the Tour.
“I think it’s a little bit unfortunate for me because Nick right now, final of Wimbledon, winner in Washington. If he continues like this, he’s going to be top-15, top-10 player,” said Medvedev.
“For me the biggest difference was that I missed some important shots. I didn’t miss much, but missed just a few where I think it could be different, maybe in the later stage of a tournament. That’s a pity. At the same time, it’s like this.”
Perhaps the only consolation for the Russian is that many consider Kyrgios’ level of play to be well above what his ranking suggests. The Australian is currently ranked 37th in the world because this year’s Wimbledon didn’t award any points to players. A decision made by the ATP in response to the tournament’s decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players, including Medvedev, from participating.
Medvedev enters a key time in the year where he will be trying to retain his US Open title, as well as maintain his position as world No.1. He will now return back to training ahead of traveling to America in the coming days where he is hoping for a rise in his form.
“For sure the next two, three days it’s not going to be easy coming back to practice knowing that everybody is still playing in Montreal, fighting for a thousand points, for a Masters winner title. It’s not easy.” He said.
“At the same time I had a lot of tough moments in my career. This is definitely not the toughest. I’m going to try to prepare well.”
The Cincinnati Masters will be the next test for Medvedev who won the tournament three years ago. He also reached the semi-finals last year before losing to Andrey Rublev.
“I hope to play well in Cincinnati. I hope to play well in the US Open. When I say ‘well’, it’s to try to be the winner. But there are a lot of guys like Nick, Carlos (Alcaraz), who can win.” He said.
Medvedev’s win-loss record for the season currently stands at 31-11.