Medvedev hoping pre-Open shakeup will pay dividends

Daniil Medvedev has gambled with his pre-Australian Open programme, taking a holiday and skipping any preliminary tournaments for the first time in his career.

Now the world No. 3 is waiting to see if his new laid-back strategy will pay dividends with the first major of the season starting on Sunday in Melbourne.

With an outside mathematical chance to regain the top ATP ranking at the end of the open if circumstances fall into place, the former US Open champion has nothing to lose.

“Everything feels like a risk when you try it for the first time. I don’t think

I’ve ever played an Australian Open without a warm-up tournament,” he said during the run-up period.

“There is a risk always. But otherwise I would be 35 years old and I have actually never spent a New Year at home.

“So I decided that is the year to try.”

The 27-year-old said he took a first family holiday in four years after the November end of the 2023 season.

“If I had (planned) a warm-up tournament, I would have had two weeks of pre-season (training). Then you go, you go nonstop.”

Medvedev said he made the decision to shake up his schedule after losing the US Open final to Novak Djokovic in September.

“Mentally and physically I was not what I wanted to be. I decided it’s going to be a good thing to try like this (change).”

Main photo:-Daniil Medvedev made his decision after losing in 2023 US Open Final – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd