Danil Medvedev is aiming to win his first Indian Wells title and his seventh Masters 1000 trophy next Sunday.
Last year the Russian player dropped out of the top 10, but he won three consecutive titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai in the tournaments leading up to the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
“Like last year, when I dropped out of the top 10, I came to the tournament and I was feeling bad. I started in a way questioning myself, OK, maybe I lost something in my game and am I going to be able to find it back ? We always put a lot of questions in our head. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. That’s what I learned to love about tennis, is that it’s changing. For example, two weeks ago I was hurting a little, my body here and there. Now it changed I feel well in Indian Wells and I have more motivation and attention to what I can do on a tennis court. I learned to enjoy the changes and even if I don’t enjoy them, I try to think about better days ahead”, said Medvedev.
Medvedev won 18 of his 20 titles on hard court and all 20 of his titles at different tournaments, including six Masters 1000 at 2019 Cincinnati, 2019 Shanghai, 2020 Paris Bercy, 2021 Toronto, 2023 Miami and 2023 Rome (his first title on clay court). He is one of six players with six or more different ATP Masters 1000 titles joining Novak Djokovic (9), Roger Federer (8), André Agassi (7), Andy Murray (7) and Rafael Nadal (7).
In last year’s edition of the Indian Wells tournament Medvedev finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz despite the slow desert conditions.
“I had a lot of confidence last year. I have some this year, maybe a bit less I won three tournaments before this one. I am definitely not going to blame the court for anything that I do, which means to play bad or good, or lose or win. I am going to enjoy my time here and try to prolong it as much as possible”, said Medvedev.
This year Medvedev lost to Jannik Sinner in a five-set Australian Open final and to eventual champion Ugo Humbert in the semifinal at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Medevev will face either Flavio Cobolli or Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round in Indian Wells.
