Daniil Medvedev ‘enjoyed’ time away from phone during massive outage in Madrid
Daniil Medvedev, in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, will meet Casper Ruud, against whom, he is 3-0 in the head-to-head record.
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Daniil Medvedev (Image via X/Meddy Family)
When a massive power outage hit Spain, tennis players at the Madrid Open left their phones; to engage themselves in other activities. For them, it was a fun thing to do as several players admitted that they enjoyed the blackout.
Daniil Medvedev in fact tried a couple of times to use his phone less. But he was unsuccessful in doing so because a phone indeed has become a necessity in various aspects of people’s lives.
And tennis players like Medvedev, who, for most part of the year are on the move, have families at home to talk to. When, after his fourth-round clash at the Madrid Open against Brandon Nakashima, Medvedev was asked how he spent time during the unforeseen off day, he said that he enjoyed the time away from his phone.
I enjoyed it. We had a great sandwich dinner because there was no hot food. I was with Karen [Khachanov], Igor Andreev, my coach, and my wife. Then actually it was perfect timing. Around 10:30…power was on. No time on the phone and go to bed.
Daniil Medvedev said during the on-court interview
A total of 22 matches (combined ATP and WTA) were canceled on Monday due to the outage. Only the matches of Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, and Matteo Arnaldi were completed.
Because of the blackout, many players used candles while having dinner. Gauff, after her match, couldn’t even shower as there was no running water; and the 2023 US Open champion also had to walk to her hotel since the traffic lights were not working. The power cut also disrupted her on-court interview.
Daniil Medvedev disagrees with Carlos Alcaraz’s take on two-week tournaments
Carlos Alcaraz is not a fan of the two-week tournaments and thinks the one-week Masters 1000 events are the best for tennis. He has often criticized the tennis schedule as he thinks not getting enough time between tournaments could lead to injuries.
Alcaraz injured himself during the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune. It was his second consecutive clay-court event following the Monte Carlo Masters, which he won and a couple of days later, he played his first match in Barcelona. As he wants more preparation time, he thinks getting some days off before another tournament could help produce a high level of tennis consistently.
But Daniil Medvedev disagrees with his take. He prefers the two-week events but wants some improvements in the overall 11-month-long calendar.
Yeah, I mean, but I always said I’m okay with two weeks. I just think the calendar in general should be better, but not about the two-week Masters. I think they are fine.
Daniil Medvedev told Ziggo Sport
Alcaraz, so far in the season has won two titles and because of the hamstring injury, the four-time Grand Slam champion will hope to make his comeback at the Italian Open which starts on May 7.
The Russian has set up a blockbuster quarterfinal clash with three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud. Prior to setting up the clash with the 29-year-old, the Norwegian knocked out last year’s US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
Medvedev has faced the 26-year-old three times but was unsuccessful in beating him. These three clashes came on hard and grass courts. They will be meeting on clay for the first time.
Medvedev is bidding to win his first title since his victory at the 2023 Italian Open. Ruud, on the other hand, came close to lifting the Dallas Open but lost the final to Denis Shapovalov. Last year, he lifted two titles: the Geneva Open and the Barcelona Open.
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