The curious attitude of Medvedev: "Today I went out to play without caring about anything"

No one trusted that Daniil Medvedev could turn around the feeling of fatigue and weariness he had been experiencing after a long season, in just 48 hours. He admitted this after his debut at the ATP Finals 2024, a loss to Taylor Fritz that put him on the edge, making his second match against Alex de Miñaur a do-or-die situation. Today, we witnessed the sharpest version of the Russian, achieving a fantastic victory built on an intriguing philosophy: stepping onto the court without caring about anything, blocking out external noise, and being content with any outcome. Thus, on the microphones of Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, the Russian shared very interesting details about the attitude he adopted today. - How were you able to turn around your tennis and mindset after a poor first encounter? "I decided I was going to stop caring about everything. So what? We are at the end of the season. We are mentally tired, everyone is, but I couldn't cope with that feeling. Seeing that I couldn't handle that sensation right now, I simply thought I should care much less about this tournament. If I lose today? I go home on Thursday, fantastic. If I win today? I'll have my chance on Thursday against Sinner, a tough opponent, perfect. I just stepped onto the court trying to hit great shots, good points... and if it works, great; if I make 30 double faults, so be it; if I make none, even better. That helped me today. Normally, it's not the best attitude, throughout the season it probably wouldn't work this way, but sometimes you have to do it, and I'm happy it worked for me today." - How does Daniil Medvedev block out the noise, as he pointed out in the on-camera celebration "My way is, as I've said, to stop caring about everything. In the match against Taylor, I went step by step. I saw that I wasn't in my best shape, that I didn't feel good, that I struggled with my second serve, but I stepped onto the court with the intention of going for the match, of fighting, of trying to win the first set. I lost the first set 6-4, three double faults, I started to suffer a bit mentally, I smashed my racket... but I told myself, well, let's keep fighting. And then, there's a break point when a slice falls on the line, and I said to myself: 'It's over, for this match it's over, that's enough.' And that was it, the match ended quite quickly. So I thought that if I approached my next match like that, thinking I should improve a bit, that I had to win this one... no, I wouldn't be able to handle that pressure. Normally I am capable, but not this time. So I went out there without caring about anything. Your boss is yelling at you, it doesn't matter, block out the noise." - A reflection on the attitude he adopted today and the significance of eliminating all that external noise "Sometimes it's good to do it, especially to do it for yourself, to remind yourself that sometimes you have to do it. The more popular you become, the more fans you receive, the more haters you receive, the more attention you get. Sometimes, even the positive noise can throw you off balance. If you win everything, everyone thinks you're a god; if you lose two matches in a row, then people say your career is over (smiles). Sometimes it's fantastic to eliminate all that noise you receive, and that's what I achieved today."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La curiosa actitud de Medvedev: "Hoy salí a jugar sin que nada me importase"