Daniil Medvedev: “I Hope to be a Good Model”

World No.4 Daniil Medvedev explains that he is always trying to be himself and be honest and truthful in front of the crowd – which might not go down well with the audience but he hopes to be a role model and not make many mistakes.

Daniil Medvedev became a villain in the first week of the US Open 2019 when he fingered the crowd after his win over Feliciano Lopez.

However, Medvedev emerged as one of the most prominent figures in the sport after he reached the finals of the US Open 2019 finals, where he showcased sheer defiance and guts in his five-set loss to Rafael Nadal, winning the hearts and respect of the tennis fans all over the world and turned the jeers to cheers.

Talking about how he deals with the crowd, Daniil Medvedev said: “Well, I try to be myself. And as I said in New York — I was talking a lot, of course. But I was out and I was still myself, and everything that happened afterward was the same.”

“I wanted to apologize and try to erase my mistake, but I still wanted to be true to my personality. Everything I said, I was honest and the truth,” Medvedev told the reporters at the Rolex Paris Masters 2019.

The Russian explained that he cannot be untrue to his personality to get love from the crowd. However, he suggested that he likes to be cheered by the crowd, but would still like to be himself.

The 23-year-old concluded: “And if the public loves me as I am, all the better. If they hate me because of this, then I’m sorry, but I cannot do something that is untrue to my personality to be loved by the crowd. I hope to be a good model and not to make mistakes there.”

Medvedev will open his campaign for his second Masters 1000 title against Jeremy Chardy at the Rolex Paris Masters 2019. The Russian star has reached six consecutive finals in his last 6 events on the ATP Tour, battling for the year-end No.3 rank in the ATP rankings with Roger Federer.

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