Daniil Medvedev took confidence from his matches against “great clay-court players” in Madrid despite not being happy with his third round exit.
The world No. 2 beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round, before falling in three sets to Cristian Garin at the Masters 1000 event.
The 25-year-old Russian was speaking ahead of this week’s Italian Open in Rome – where he will face compatriot Aslan Karatsev in the second round on Tuesday.
“If we talk about Madrid, of course in general the result I did there, I’m not happy, but I played against two really great clay-court players,” Medvedev said in his pre-tournament press conference.
“I mean, Davidovich beat [Matteo] Berrettini in Monte-Carlo, and now Berrettini is in the final in Madrid.
“Cristian was actually up a set and a break against Matteo, who is in the final of Madrid. [It] was two good matches, one that I managed to win, so [it] gives [me] some confidence.
“I’m never going to be like some Spanish players that from [when] they are young they know, ‘Okay, I turn around the forehand, I spin the ball, I play high over the net, I make the ball bounce close to the line.
“So I have to, with my shots that I know how to make work on hard courts, make small adjustments to make them work for clay. Physically, I need to improve and matches will help me. It’s about the small adjustments.”
