Medvedev faces up after his toughest defeat: "It was a humiliation"

Fernando Murciego | 22 Apr 2026 | 21.16

Medvedev faces up after his toughest defeat: "It was a humiliation." Source: Getty

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The tennis world has not seen Daniil Medvedev compete since April 8th, when he was defeated in the first round in Monte Carlo by Matteo Berrettini with a score of 6-0 and 6-0. Today, we finally have his analysis of that match.

It has been an intense day for Daniil Medvedev with the Media Day of the Mutua Madrid Open 2026, where several media outlets from his country met with the Russian tennis star at this Masters 1000 event. The team at ¡MÁS! were able to speak with the former world number one and even touch on a sensitive subject, his recent loss to Berrettini in Monte Carlo. It must not be easy to remember that, but Daniil possesses a natural candor where no topic is too cumbersome to discuss. His words should remind us that this is all about sport, even though a tough loss can linger in your mind for a long time.

“When you lose 6-0 and 6-0… clearly something went wrong,” commented the Moscow native about his only match on this clay court tour. “At these levels, you can't lose like that, something wasn't right that day. Then you try to find the reasons so it doesn't happen again, so right now, my relationship with clay is normal, nothing extraordinary, but I can play. After a loss, you always go through tough times, some really affect your confidence, especially if you lose in the first round to someone you think you should have beaten. That can affect you in the following tournaments,” added the man returning to competition this week.

“With a double 6-0, there are no exceptions, it hurts due to the humiliation, but that's how sports go. I'm not the first or the last to experience this. Those days were complex, it took me a whole week to regain my rhythm and understand what I needed to do. The good thing was that the next tournament wasn't coming immediately, so we could escape from that situation with a lot of calmness, training well. That's why I'm playing better now,” stated Medvedev, who will face the winner of the match between Quinn and Marozsan in the second round here.

Medvedev and his curious comparison with clay courts

Within the freshness that the Russian always brings when he has a microphone in front of him, this time the focus was on his relationship with clay courts, a surface that historically hasn't given him many joys, albeit some very sporadic ones. “Playing on clay is like playing FIFA, there are many unpredictable factors that you can't control, that are out of your hands,” he jokes. “For example, bad bounces on clay. You can do everything right and still miss a shot, that's frustrating for the player. That's why I prefer to go for definitive shots: either you hit or you miss,” warns the current #10 in the rankings about his future strategies.

Daniil Medvedev training at the Mutua Madrid Open. Source: Getty

“Playing on clay is also like playing FIFA in that sense, because you can lose or win the point depending on how the ball bounces. Even the easiest shot can go wrong because of that. That aspect is what I find most challenging, you can play well for a long time but a simple bounce can ruin everything. You dominate the whole match, you're winning, but in the last play, something strange happens, and the opponent ties the score. That's very annoying, but that's what clay courts are about,” he concludes emphatically.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Medvedev da la cara tras su derrota más dura: “Fue una humillación”