"Never going to be like Spanish players on clay" - Medvedev on his clay level

Daniil Medvedev has had a slippery relationship with the red dirt and ahead of the Rome Masters he discusses his play on it.

Daniil Medvedev made headlines last week after he vented his frustration on red dirt receiving a warning from the umpire not to damage the surface. Medvedev called it damaged already as it's clay once again showcasing his lack of love for it. After beating Davidovich he ironically wrote 'I love clay on the court' on the camera.

Now ahead of Rome, he spoke about his week in Madrid:

“If we talk about Madrid, of course, in general, the result I did there, I'm not happy, but I played against two really great clay-court players. I mean, Davidovich beat [Matteo] Berrettini in Monte-Carlo, and now Berrettini is in the final in Madrid."

Medvedev continued:

"Cristian was actually up a set and a break against Matteo, who is in the final of Madrid. [It] was two good matches, one that I managed to win, so [it] gives [me] some confidence.”

Medvedev also spoke about his clay game admitting that he will never be comfortable on it like Spanish players are:

“I'm never going to be like some Spanish players that from [when] they are young they know, ‘Okay, I turn around the forehand, I spin the ball, I play high over the net, I make the ball bounce close to the line."

He also underlined the need to finetune his game to work better on clay which is something he is working on:

“So I have to, with my shots that I know how to make work on hard courts, make small adjustments to make them work for clay… Physically I need to improve and matches will help me. It's about the small adjustments.”

He will need to figure out things quick as a potential 2nd round matchup with Aslan Karatsev is waiting. The Russian's game is best suited for hard courts but his experience on clay far outweighs that of Medvedev.