“I’m always offended when this happens,” Daniil Medvedev lays bare his ‘negative qualities’ in a recent candid interview as he tries to balance it all out

The Russian is preparing for his clay debut for the season playing as the fourth seed at the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters.

“I’m always offended when this happens,” Daniil Medvedev lays bare his ‘negative qualities’ in a recent candid interview as he tries to balance it all out

Daniil Medvedev (Image via IMAGO)

World No. 4 Daniil Medvedev will return to one of his least preferred surfaces as he prepares for the Golden Swing. He will make his clay debut for the season at the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters, competing as the fourth seed. 

Before starting his campaign at the tournament, the former World No. 1 sat down for a lengthy interview with Russian media outlet Sport Express. He touched upon various topics from his professional and personal lives during the conversation. 

YouTube video

One of the topics of discussion was the behavior of fans, particularly what they liked and disliked. The Russian is one of the few players who is loved and hated equally by crowds all across the globe. This comes from his habit of teasing the fans when results go in his favor despite the support of his opponent. 

I always said that I'm not afraid if they root for someone else. This is normal, this is sport. Some are supported more, others less. But in tennis it's customary to not clap before the second serve or after double faults. There have been different matches, and I'm always offended when this happens.
Said Medvedev

The former US Open winner was also honest enough to admit having negative qualities within him. He felt he dragged the crowd reception issue too much in the 2023 season and will be working on the factor this year. 

On the other hand, I have a lot of negative qualities. I think that last year I began to develop this story too much. So now I try to pay as little attention to it as possible. Let's see how things continue.
Added the Russian.

Crowd Reception and Medvedev have a long history. He infamously admitted to playing only for himself after being subjected to massive booing during his 2022 Australian Open finals loss to Rafael Nadal. He claimed the booing and heckling ‘killed’ the child within him who just wanted to play tennis.

During the 2023 Paris Masters, he was again subjected to a lot of criticism by the crowd. Following his defeat, he showed his middle finger to the crowd while exiting the stadium before showing maturity in his press conference.

Tough start for Daniil Medvedev in Monte Carlo

Being the fourth seed at the Masters event, Medvedev was handed a bye in the first round. He was scheduled to play the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Aleksander Vukic.

Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev (Via Imago)

The French veteran staged a big comeback to win the match 6-7 (9), 6-3, 7-5, and progress into the second round. He will now clash with the Russian No. 1 for the fourth time in their professional careers. Monfils lead the head-to-head 2-1 and have won both of their previous encounters on the Tour. 

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