Tennis-Medvedev seeks to learn from difficult moments, raise the game in 2023

ADELAIDE (Reuters) Daniil Medvedev said he needed a long time to recover from his loss to Rafa Nadal in last years Australian Open final, but the Russian vowed to use his experience to reach a higher level in 2023 as he prepares for the season first. Grand Slam.

Medvedev was leading by two sets when Nadal made a comeback for good, sealing a 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5 victory in a thrilling final at Rod Laver Arena to deny his opponent his second. large crown.

I felt absolutely terrible that in life and in tennis, you have to get over it, try to learn from it, because you can’t change the past, Medvedev told reporters on Sunday before the Adelaide International 1 tournament.

I had some tough times in my career some tough losses I know many losses in a row and I always managed to find my way back so I’m sure I’ll find my way back to an even higher level than I played maybe a year ago.

But yeah, it wasn’t easy to get over the match for a while, but right now I’m looking forward to the Australian Open again and I want to do better than last year. That’s the goal.

After losing to Nadal at Melbourne Park, Medvedev exited the French Open in the fourth round, while a ban on Russian players at Wimbledon due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine forced him to miss the grass court.

His US Open title defense ended after a fourth-round loss to Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, and the 26-year-old lost his No. 1 ranking.

Teenager Carlos Alcaraz ended 2022 as the top player and Medvedev said the men’s field looked as strong as ever with new faces in the top 10.

I think it’s always difficult because there are always new players. “Some of the old ones maybe play a little worse, but they will come back. Carlos is now number one in the world and is playing great,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev will open his season against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego at the ATP 250 in Adelaide with a possible semi-final clash with 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)