Daniil Medvedev is having a smooth sail in the Miami Open. The top-seeded Medvedev last beat Jenson Brooksby to set up a semifinal clash with Hubert Hurkacz. The two have faced each other thrice in their career, with Medvedev leading the head-to-head race 2-1. However, unlike the previous meetings, this match is undoubtedly the most important one. Winning the match would not only send Medvedev to the finals but will also give Medvedev the top spot in the rankings, once again.

During his fourth-round post-match press conference, Medvedev was asked how he will be approaching his semifinal keeping in mind the run to the top spot. Going word to word as per the question, “How will you approach this match, with extra pressure, extra motivation? What will be in your mind?”

Daniil Medvedev on playing the semifinal to be in the top spot

Even though a majority of players ought to be nervous or stressed in such a situation, that wasn’t the case with the 26-year-old Russian. Taking the question with the highest level of positivity, Medvedev confessed that he doesn’t feel any pressure. Instead, he feels a lot more motivated. “At this moment, I don’t feel any pressure. A lot of extra motivation to try to make it. You know, it’s a great thing to try,” he said.

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Medvedev is known for his goal-oriented approach in every tournament. The player has often been heard talking about his goals on the tour. This time was no different. He further went on to assert that he mentally prepared himself before the start of the tournament that in order to be on the top, he needs to be there. He said, “To be in the semifinals, I knew before the tournament that I have to be there if I want to be No. 1. It’s great that I have this chance. Only one match left.”

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The pressure during the match

A number of players enter the court as confident as they can be. However, looking at history, tennis for a long time has been a sport full of surprises and shocks. Neither of the players can be sure before the match as to what will happen on the court. A tennis match is bound to come with twists and turns for the fans, and pressure and stress for the players.

Medvedev is no different. Even though he might have looked confident answering the question, he accepted that pressure can build up during the match. He elaborated on his point by explaining how different scorelines can have different pressure levels for the player.

“Of course maybe during the match, pressure can start to build up, depending how the match is going, what’s the score. I mean, yeah, if you have 5-0, 40-Love, maybe less pressure. If it’s 6-5 in the tiebreak in the third set there is a little bit more.”

Even though Medvedev accepted the actual pressure will be known only during the match, he chose to end the answer on a positive note. He said, “At this moment it’s just a lot of extra motivation to try to make this one more step.”

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Daniil Medvedev will play Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 Miami Open. If the Russian wins the clash, he will play the winner of Carlos Alcaraz and Miomir Kecmanovic.