"Confidence is king" says Daniil Medvedev ahead of ATP Finals

Daniil Medvedev achieved the highlight of his career by winning the 2021 US Open by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. The Russian did not play much tennis after that but returned in Paris to defend his trophy from the previous year. Once again he faced Djokovic but this time the Serbian prevailed. Ahead of the ATP Finals, he understands that winning the event will be tough:

“Tennis is so much about ups and downs, gaining of confidence. Coming into Paris last year I felt completely out of shape, low on confidence, and not sure what I could achieve in the last two tournaments of the year. I found my tennis and confidence to win both of them, and of course I beat Novak [Djokovic], Rafa [Nadal] and Dominic [Thiem] at the [Nitto ATP] Finals. Three really tough match ups."

Confidence is a crucial part of tennis believes Daniil Medvedev whose game heavily relies on it. If the Russian is feeling confident there is a sense of calm within himself that he will win the match. Speaking on that he said:

“It was amazing, and that gave me confidence in Australia. After you re-watch [matches] on YouTube, your confidence is back. You think, ‘I’m still able to do it.’ We had the pandemic when we didn’t play for a long time [in 2020 and] I had some problems with my body. So coming back was not easy, but these two tournaments last year brought back my confidence. It was enough for all this year, knowing that I could beat the best players in the world.”

Speaking on his mindset when facing Djokvoic or any other top player in general he said:

“The level of our matches will always be high, but you will try to adapt your style. I tried to re-watch the Australian Open final for the US Open final, and Novak watched the US Open match to change things [in Paris]. We both did the right things [in Paris], but he played better on the day. You know nothing will ever come easily and you need to fight throughout the match.”