Breaking News

Kontaveit beats Vondrousova at VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 to avenge her Winbledon loss

October 23, 01:30 PM

Middelkoop and Heliovaara become second finalists of VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 doubles event

October 23, 01:15 PM

Photo gallery of the fifth game day, October 22

October 22, 11:45 PM

Karatsev garanteed an All-Russian semifinals at the VTB Kremlin Cup-2021

October 22, 11:15 PM

Khachanov outserved Millman with 19 aced to reach SF at VTB Kremlin Cup

October 22, 09:15 PM

Aslan Karatsev: «My goal is to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin»

October 24, 08:30 PM

Karatsev outpayed Cilic to win VTB Kremlin Cup singles title

October 24, 07:00 PM

Harri Heliovaara: «We play tennis just to have the kind of rallies we’ve had in the "VTB Kremlin Cup" finals»

October 24, 06:45 PM

Anett Kontaveit: «Ekaterina played great, it seemed I had no chance»

October 24, 05:15 PM

Ekaterina Alexandrova: «The loss to Kontaveit is very painful, but I won’t make it a drama»

October 24, 04:00 PM

Kontaveit came back from a set and two breaks down to beat Alexandrova in the VTB Kremlin Cup final

October 24, 02:30 PM

Aslan Karatsev: «I know what to expect from Cilic, I am ready for the final»

October 23, 10:00 PM

Karen Khachanov: «I made errors in the tie-break, it played a key role in the match against Karatsev»

October 23, 09:30 PM

Marin Cilic: «To reach another VTB Kremlin Cup final is a special moment for me»

October 23, 08:30 PM

Jelena Ostapenko: «I'm enjoying my freedom in Moscow!»

October 23, 07:00 PM

Ostapenko/Siniakova clinched doubles title at VTB Kremlin Cup-2021

October 23, 04:45 PM

Anett Kontaveit: «It’s going to be a tough battle with Alexandrova in the final»

October 23, 04:45 PM

Supported by

Ministry of sport of the Russian Federation

Department<br>for sport<br>of Moscow city

Daniil Medvedev: «After my tennis career is over I will live in Russia!»

October 21, 05:30 PM

World №2 Daniil Medvedev skipped the VTB Kremlin Cup this year, but he still attended the tournament and gave a big press-conference. Russia’s top player said what he expects from the Moscow event, shared his thoughts on the change of generations in tennis and admitted that his goal is to leave behind Novak Djokovic and become the world’s top player.

Daniil, the official reason for your withdrawing from the VTB Kremlin Cup is fatigue. Is it rather physical or mental fatigue? Have you already managed to recover?

The fact is that the ATP is obliged to give a reason for withdrawal from the tournament, so they indicated fatigue. And so it’s not only fatigue, there were a couple of things that I felt in Indian Wells, I don’t want to talk about them. I try not to reveal my feelings, injuries, but there is nothing serious. Mentally I'm fine, but physically it's tough at the end of the season. Since the Olympics, I have not been home, I've been in America for 2.5 months. I very rarely missed the VTB Kremlin Cup and tournaments in Russia in general, I skipped the Moscow event just once. I have a goal to win this tournament during my career, perhaps more than once. But I understood that if I played here and in St. Petersburg, then I might be worse at the end of the season and at the beginning of the next one.

What are your predictions for this VTB Kremlin Cup?

Honestly, if there is a Russian final, I will not be surprised, it will be fine, given the results of our guys. Rather, it will be abnormal if the Russian final does not happen. Our guys themselves know what they are capable of. Of course, there are also foreign guys here who play cool, but the audience should see a Russian final.

You had a chance to become world №1 had you won Indian Wells, but it did not work. Are you disappointed or you didn’t pay any attention to it?

I'm not upset, but becoming world №1 remains my goal. Hopefullyб someday it will work out. Perhaps this year Novak Djokovic missed several “masters”, but he won three “Slams” and was in the final in one more, so it is logical that he remains №1, this is completely fair. If I can catch him up this year, great. Mathematically, this is still real. If it doesn't work - I will try to do it later.

You won the ATP Finals last year, a "Slam" this year, what's your next big goal in tennis?

My biggest goal is to work hard and be the best version of myself at every tournament, it doesn't matter if it's a "slam" or ATP-250. And the goal is to win more "Slams", become world №1 and be in the top for many more years. For this I train and will continue to do it with even greater dedication. But again, the main goal is to improve and be demanding of yourself. It's impossible to win everything, no one won 60 matches in a row, but if you play well, there will be victories.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are idols, they won so many titles, but a generational change is the making. In your opinion, is it still going on or has it already happened?

Like everything in life, their dominance will also pass. Roger and Rafa finished the season early, they had injuries, they didn’t play the US Open, that's a fact. But still, out of the last 20 "slams" 17 or 18 were taken by those three guys. The three of them are the greatest tennis players in history. Due to the fact that they are getting old, it became a little easier for us to play with them, in this regard we were lucky.

A question about the US Open-2021: has your experience in the previous Grand Slam finals helped you this year?

Yes, 100 percent. For me experience is key to everything. I don't do everything well the first time, I learn from mistakes and from what I do right, I love to analyze. In 2019 I was in the final of the US Open, but did not win, this year in Australia, too. Back then I had a streak of 21 wins and thought that I was in good shape and that would be enough, but that was not enough. And in 2021, this experience helped me in the US Open finals. From the very first point in that tournament, I knew that I would have a chance to win, with these thoughts I went to the final.

Only vaccinated players can play at the Australian Open, and those non-vaccinated will serve a 14-day quarantine. Are you going to get vaccinated?

I liked what Novak said about this. He said the vaccination was a personal matter and he would not be making it public. And I also decided not to disclose medical things. As for Australia: there everyone will see who is vaccinated and who is not. Of course, the players can say that they are injured, but this will be a play on words. I want to play in Australia, that's all I can say.

At the end of the season there will be the Davis Cup, Russia has a strong lineup. How big a goal for you to win this event? Are you going to play it?

Yes, I will play the Davis Cup, in any case, I'm going to do it, we want to win it with the guys. Last time we lost a tough match to Canada (in the Davis Cup 2019 semifinals , this year we won the ATP Cup. We’ve been playing together since we were 12-13 years old and we want to add the Davis Cup to our collection. I respect this tournament. But tennis is the only sport played for 11 months a year. The Davis Cup Final will take place on December 5th or 6th. The choice is this: either you get some rest after the season, or you have no rest at all, but you will play in Davis Cup Finals.

Do they recognize you more often on the streets after you won the US Open?

I really like how people in Russia behave when they recognize you. Yesterday my wife and I were in a restaurant, a girl comes up and says, "I just thank you for playing for the country and for winning the US Open." All with warmth, kindness. And in America, if they see you in a restaurant or somewhere, they point the finger at you and say "Medvedev!" while you are eating spaghetti, for example. I love returning to Russia even for such a warm attitude.

You don't like playing on clay. You're not the first such player, McRoe didn’t like it, Pete Sampras didn't like it either. Will you eventually get to like playing on clay?

I hope I can get to like it, and this year I have already started to achieve something on clay, I lost to Tsitsipas, who showed fantastic results and could have beaten Novak in the finals at Roland Garros. There is nothing shameful in my defeat. The coach and I work on the clay game every year. Let's see what happens in the next seasons, I will try to play better and better on clay.

How do you react to the hate in social networks due to the fact that you refused to participate in tournaments in Russia?

You cannot please everyone, especially when you become famous. But I saw more words of encouragement than hate. And there will always be hate, even after the victory at the US Open it was there. Sometimes you just cannot understand why you are not loved, because you try and win. But the Russians support me in their overwhelming majority, for me this is the most important thing.

Working with a psychologist, how did it help you after the Olympics at the US Open?

We worked quite a lot during the US Open. This is not working eight hours a day, you just communicate with her at some point, before or after training. And after the Olympics I was impressed by the words of Novak, which he said after his defeat. He then was going for the Golden Slam but lost in the semifinals to Zverev, although he was up a set and a break. And he took defeat philosophically, saying that it is impossible to win everything.

After winning the US Open, you told Novak that he was the best player in the world. Was it more like a compliment to your opponent to sort of console him after his tough loss, or do you really think so?

I decided I had to say it. It was the right moment, I had never really said that before. And I said it sincerely. I kind of like Novak, and I think he likes me too.

One Russian writer and historian – arguably it was Nikolay Karamzin - said that if there were no Russia, he would like to live in France. And poet Vladimir Mayakovsky confessed: «I would like to live and die in Paris, if there were no such land as Moscow.». What can you say to this?

I really like these two phrases. I won’t get tired of repeating, although someone hates me for this: I won’t lie, I live in Monaco, train in France, my whole team is French. I did it for my career. Most likely, I will live there my entire career. It is not known about the coaches, it is not known what will happen when, making plans is stupid. There are two main reasons (for moving to France). The first is commute, it is impossible to get to practices back and forth without getting into a traffic jam (like in Moscow), it will take you two hours to get there. And the warm climate is the second reason: I can play outdoors almost all year round in France. This is also impossible in Moscow in December. But after my career, I will most likely live in Russia. I am quite sincere in this, trust me.

Breaking News

Photo gallery of the final game day, October 24

Schedule for October, 24th

Karatsev sails into VTB Kremlin Cup finals after beating Khachanov

Cilic became the first finalist of the VTB Kremlin Cup

Alexandrova reached the VTB Kremlin Cup final as Sakkari retired

Kontaveit beats Vondrousova at VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 to avenge her Winbledon loss

Middelkoop and Heliovaara become second finalists of VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 doubles event

Photo gallery of the fifth game day, October 22

Karatsev garanteed an All-Russian semifinals at the VTB Kremlin Cup-2021

Khachanov outserved Millman with 19 aced to reach SF at VTB Kremlin Cup

Breaking News

Photo gallery of the final game day, October 24

Schedule for October, 24th

Karatsev sails into VTB Kremlin Cup finals after beating Khachanov

Cilic became the first finalist of the VTB Kremlin Cup

Alexandrova reached the VTB Kremlin Cup final as Sakkari retired

Kontaveit beats Vondrousova at VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 to avenge her Winbledon loss

Middelkoop and Heliovaara become second finalists of VTB Kremlin Cup-2021 doubles event

Photo gallery of the fifth game day, October 22

Karatsev garanteed an All-Russian semifinals at the VTB Kremlin Cup-2021

Khachanov outserved Millman with 19 aced to reach SF at VTB Kremlin Cup

Aslan Karatsev: «My goal is to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin»

Karatsev outpayed Cilic to win VTB Kremlin Cup singles title

Harri Heliovaara: «We play tennis just to have the kind of rallies we’ve had in the "VTB Kremlin Cup" finals»

Anett Kontaveit: «Ekaterina played great, it seemed I had no chance»

Ekaterina Alexandrova: «The loss to Kontaveit is very painful, but I won’t make it a drama»

Kontaveit came back from a set and two breaks down to beat Alexandrova in the VTB Kremlin Cup final

Aslan Karatsev: «I know what to expect from Cilic, I am ready for the final»

Karen Khachanov: «I made errors in the tie-break, it played a key role in the match against Karatsev»

Marin Cilic: «To reach another VTB Kremlin Cup final is a special moment for me»

Jelena Ostapenko: «I'm enjoying my freedom in Moscow!»

Ostapenko/Siniakova clinched doubles title at VTB Kremlin Cup-2021

Anett Kontaveit: «It’s going to be a tough battle with Alexandrova in the final»