"Like a fish on the sofa" - Medvedev on his status after Hurkacz match

Daniil Medvedev failed to defeat Hubert Hurkacz at the Miami Masters which means he won't return to the number one ranking this upcoming Monday.

He struggled with fatigue and appeared to criticize the tennis balls being used as the Russian fell to defending champion Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. Medvedev appeared uncomfortable for much of the match in the stifling Florida humidity, taking a medical timeout in the second set and later hunching over and holding his left knee.

Speaking after the match, he said:

"All the match I was not feeling my best. But, you know, sometimes it happens. I don’t know the actual reason. Maybe the heat. But I was feeling super, like, dizzy, tired, and there was this long game where I couldn’t serve anymore. Then in the locker room I was cramping quite much, so physically was not easy. But at the same time, that’s part of the game.”

In a typically colorful turn of phrase, the Russian said the cramping he endured after the match had left him feeling “like a fish on the sofa” – a comment quickly dubbed the “quote of the year” by some sports pundits. He also reflect on failing to dethrone Djokovic:

“For me was more important in a way just to win the match itself than to become a No. 1 by winning the match. I saw it more as a bonus. So I don't feel like I was tight or anything because of this. To be honest, I played a lot of matches where I had the pressure, different [types], and it's not like something new happened today in terms of like going out of court and feeling crazy tight or something. So I don't think that nerves were part of this."