Fresh off a three-week training block and his first title of the season in Los Cabos, Daniil Medvedev is poised to carry his momentum to Montreal for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, where he is the defending champion.
“I made a great preparation block of three weeks and worked a lot physically, because we know that the end of the season is never easy and I want to be 100 percent ready. I managed to feel great in Los Cabos,” Medvedev said at the weekend.
“I’m in great confidence right now. I played good matches (in Mexico). I feel very confident and I feel good for the next tournaments.”
The North American hard-court season is where the World No. 1 has played his best tennis. He enters this week boasting an 11-3 record at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada, where he reached the final in 2019 (l. Nadal) and won the title last year in Toronto (d. Opelka).
In the coming weeks Medvedev will try to defend his title at the US Open, where he took out Djokovic in the championship match to capture his maiden Grand Slam. Before he gets to New York, he knows that two big tournaments are at stake and he expressed the importance of having a strong month in North America.
“I’ve always played well at the US Open when I played well in the previous tournaments. It’s always important for me to build my confidence. Last year, I won in Toronto, semi-finals in Cincy…The year I won Cincinnati, I was in the final here in Montreal. I want to play well here, it’s very important.”
Montreal’s top seed is striving to capture his fifth Masters 1000 title, a victory that would help him fend off competitors who are coming for the World No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. Medvedev, 20-5 on hard courts this season, is already looking at the math.
“There are 4,000 points left for everybody to win in these three tournaments (Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open). That’s the maximum you can get. I would be happy to get the maximum. That’s what I’m going to try to do. But that’s tough.”
A former Nitto ATP Finals champion, Medvedev is fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, and has the chance to climb to fourth this week.
“I know in the Race (To Turin) Rafa is far ahead. I guess Carlos is also quite far. That also can change. It’s not something that is bothering my mind, but for sure I want to get a lot of points.”
The 14-time tournament winner’s opening match will be against Washington champion Nick Kyrgios, who is riding a seven-match winning streak and is gleaming with confidence.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/s870qbu
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