Medvedev makes just-in-time switch to positive mode

Daniil Medvedev didn’t let a disaster of an opening set wear him down, with the defending champion switching mental gears to surge into the quarter-finals of the ATP Dubai tournament on Wednesday.

The top-seeded world No. 2 dropped the first set to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego before reversing course and posting a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 fightback victory in just under two hours.

“I came onto court not feeling right, I was nervous and tight” he said. “Sometimes you have a bad day.

“After I lost the first set I told myself to calm down.I had to change and do better.

“I knew if that didn’t work, the too good, it’s his day.

“But it did work and that’s what feels good.”

The Australian Open finalist is playing this week for the first time since losing the Melbourne final to Jannik Sinner.

“Emotions can take over on the court,” Medvedev said.

“You do wrong things.

“I tried to focus on the things I needed to do. I’m pretty happy about how it worked out.

“Sometimes it takes a set to calm down and if I continue to do what I did in the first set, that is not going to work. I just had to change.” 

Medvedev broke once in the second set to level and twice in the third to clinch victory and increase his Dubai win streak to seven straight matches.