Daniil Medvedev made a very interesting but also radical calendar change proposal in Turin as the Russian suggests it would be way better if everything revolved around the Grand Slam and Masters tournaments, with the ATP 250 pretty much becoming optional and moved to a slot later in the year.
Following a two-set loss to Taylor Fritz in his opening match at the ATP Finals, the 2021 US Open champion unloaded on the balls on the Tour and complained that playing tennis wasn't an enjoyable experience anymore.
On Tuesday, the former world No. 1 returned to the court but this time had more success after beating Alex de Minaur 6-2 6-4. After the match, Medvedev repeated that he remains extremely dissatisfied with the balls used on the Tour but also aired another thing that isn't making him happy - the calendar.
This season, the 28-year-old has been mainly focused on the Slam and Masters events, rarely playing any ATP 250s.
"About the schedule? I got this question not long ago. I think I found a good answer from my side. This year I only tried to play big tournaments. I think I only played three 500s. One preparation for Wimbledon. One Dubai, which was some time after Australian Open. Ones was Beijing, in the Shanghai swing, so it's a good tournament to play," Medvedev explained.
"I think somehow there should be, yeah, more bigger, important tournaments, which should be like, Okay, these are the tournaments where we define who is going to be top 10, like Masters 1000. You play good in them, you will be there... Yeah, the schedule should somehow be around them. Like there should not be a 250 after Paris Bercy where Casper, Andrey and Alex have to go there, then they withdraw or something."
Medvedev: Schedule the most important ones earlier...
Even though the current world No. 4 focused on playing only the biggest tournaments this year, his 2024 season is still lasting 11 months.
Since the ATP hasn't shown any indication so far that the calendar is going to be reduced, the Russian has an idea of what they could do - schedule the Grand Slam and Masters tournaments through September, with the ATP Finals taking place in October. And if someone still wants to play tennis in the rest of the year, allow him to do so by having ATP 250s during that period.
"I remember Rafa once said it. The season should finish earlier, then you put all the 250s after for people that want to continue playing. If you're good enough, you finish the season in whatever, October, play in Masters. Doesn't matter. Don't count the tournaments after," Medvedev added.
"If you still feel like you need more points for Australian Open or more matches, you do it after. I think that's something to consider because Carlos said it yesterday. First match I had a meltdown because every match I go, I usually go with a willingness to fight till the end to win. When it doesn't work your way, I get frustrated sometimes.
"This match basically went I don't care. It's good for me, I won. But I would lose the same score, you would not see one emotion on my face. I would be here talking happy, whatever. I go home Thursday. I'm okay. That's not good when you play the Masters in Turin for huge money, huge points. I don't care. 200 points, whatever. Good for me. Should be different."
Medvedev on if he plans to do something different against Jannik Sinner
By beating de Minaur in straight sets, the 2020 ATP Finals champion kept his chances of securing a semifinal spot in Turin. But in order to do so, he will have to beat world No. 1 Sinner.
While the Russian has seven wins in eight matches against the Italian, the problem is that he has won only one of their six meetings this year - since winning their Wimbledon clash, he has ended on the losing side three times in a row.
When asked if he could try something differently this time, Medvedev admitted that Sinner can be too good at times so even playing his best doesn't guarantee him anything.
"Nothing too much. I feel like, it's going to sound strange because I lost a lot of matches, but I feel like tactically I know what I have to do. It's just a problem the guy's playing really good. You can do the best match possible tactically, tennis-wise, and you can still lose. That's the reality. It's not an easy reality," Medvedev noted.
