Medvedev questioning confidence after long pause

Australian Open finalist Daniil admitted on Monday that he’s seeking confidence after a long pause following his Melbourne loss a month ago to Jannik Sinner.

The top seed at the ATP Dubai 500 event confessed to exhaustion after his Melbourne defeat and pared back his February schedule by skipping Rotterdam and Doha tournaments.

And the defending champion at the Aviation Club said that he’s a bit unsure of his game as he finally makes a return to the intensive spring swing on the Tour.

“Last year I was in confidence, winning two tournaments (Rotterdam and Doha prior to Dubai),” he said.

“Here I’m coming back from a tournament that was already months ago.

“The first match is going to see how is my game, where I’m at, am I going to be able to play good straightaway because I
play a good opponent. 

“It’s a different story.”

The world No. 2 said his main goal is health

“I consider myself young, but I’m getting older,” the 28-year-old said.  “Sometimes pain grows in some parts of my body.

“But (I need to) stay healthy, continue what I did in Australia, meaning play well. 

“I want to feel better on the court, feel better in my life, for this to be more open; that’s what I’m going to try to do.”

Monte Carlo-based Medvedev has taken former French player Gilles Simon into his team, with the player suggesting it’s a near-perfect fit.

“I thought about Gilles for many different reasons: He knows tennis well, he was able to beat me and make me feel not good on the court. 

“We share a little bit the same mentality. We’re easy going. We just started working. If it doesn’t work, we finish tomorrow. 

“If it works well, maybe we do many years. So far it’s been working well and we go forward from there.”

Main photo:- Daniil Medvedev losing in the 2024 Australian open last month – by ISF Ltd