Daniil Medvedev Is Relishing Fatherhood As He Aims For A Better Season In 2023  - UBITENNIS

Daniil Medvedev Is Relishing Fatherhood As He Aims For A Better Season In 2023 

By Adam Addicott
3 Min Read
Daniil Medvedev - Roland Garros 2022 (foto Roberto Dell'Olivo)

Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev says he has ‘only good emotions’ following the birth of his first child last month.

Medvedev’s wife Darya gave birth to a baby girl on October 14th and world No.7 has described his experience of fatherhood so far as ‘amazing.’ The new addition occurred during a year when the Russian topped the world rankings for the first time in his career, holding the position for 16 weeks over two separate periods. Although it is hard to compare his on-court achievements to recent events in his personal life. 

“I’m a really happy person in life right now, it’s only good emotions,“ Medvedev said during a recent interview for the Diriyah Tennis Cup exhibition. “The experience is amazing, many many people told me that I can only understand this when I have a baby and now I can completely understand. It’s a lot of fun. I’m so happy about it and so grateful to my wife.“

The 26-year-old joins a growing group of fathers on the men’s Tour. Last month Rafael Nadal and Gael Monfils also became parents for the first time. In the year-end top 10, four players are fathers – Nadal, Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic. 

After what has been a roller-coaster season for Medvedev, he is aiming to regain some momentum in his form during the off-season. He has won two titles this year in Los Cabos and Vienna, as well as reaching the final of the Australian Open where he had a two-set lead before losing. However, he is currently on an eight-match losing streak against top-10 players. Overall, he has won 45 out of 64 matches played. 

One of the off-season events Medvedev is hoping to generate a confidence boost from is the extravagant Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia which is offering $1M in prize money for the champion of the singles event. 

“The only thing I want of myself and for the fans to see is the best version of me. I want to play good tennis, this season there were some moments where I was not myself on the court, there were some things not working, not clicking.” Medvedev said of his hopes for the new year.
“This is normal in everybody’s careers and everybody’s seasons, some moments are better than others but I want to try and be better next year and show my best level every time.“

The Diriyah Tennis Cup will begin on December 8th. Also participating is Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Fritz, Cameron Norrie, Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem. 

Medvedev is expected to start his 2023 season in Adelaide. He is unable to play in the inaugural United Cup due to Russia’s current suspension from team events. 

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