Erste Bank Open: Daniil Medvedev - If in doubt, also under the flag of the ATP
Daniil Medvedev tops the seed list at the Erste Bank Open 2022 in Vienna. As usual, the Russian was in a good mood at his press conference on Monday. The matches from Vienna are available on TV and live stream on ServusTV and ServusTV On.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Oct 25, 2022, 07:22 am
By Jens Huiber from the Wiener Stadthalle
The occupation of the ranks in front of the podium, on which the press conferences at the Erste Bank Open will take place this year, was basically the same for Daniil Medvedev as for Dominic Thiem. But it is also true, of course, that if an auditorium offers almost 2,000 seats like the small stage in the town hall, then a dozen reporters seem modest. Which was also worth a casual comment for a fine-pointed man like Daniil Medvedev when he marched in late on Monday afternoon.
It shouldn't be the last.
The ATP tour certainly offers athletes whose style of play comes closer to the tennis textbook than Daniil Medvedev. When it comes to the productivity of interviews with journalists, nobody can beat the 2021 US Open champion. Not that it was necessary in Vienna, but when in doubt, Medvedev answers in fine French as well as English. The start at the Erste Bank Open 2022 was hanging by a thread, said Medvedev. He could only have trained fully on Saturday, and the first attempts in the Wiener Stadthalle went well.
Medvedev on course Thiem
In addition, Medvedev was also in talks in Basel. But: The better is the enemy of the good. And the better thing in this specific case was probably a more sympathetic offer from the Austrian capital. Which, even if Daniil Medvedev didn't really want to say it and then does, is ahead of Basel in a direct city comparison.
Medvedev was always willing to provide information, only on political issues he withdrew a little. But you don't necessarily have to blame him for that. On the other hand, the 26-year-old was happy to provide information about the family changes - a few days ago he became a father for the first time.
United Cup with or without Russia?
Should Medvedev defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili on Wednesday and Dominic Thiem tonight Tommy Paul (from 5:30 p.m. live on ServusTV, ServusTV On and in our live ticker), then there would be a meeting with the 2019 Vienna champion. Which of course exactly those The mixed situation in which Daniil Medvedev feels particularly comfortable: Just remember the US Open 2019, when Medvedev fought his way to the final with the old Horst Skoff doctrine ("The more you whistle the better I play). That means: The more an audience stands in the corner of its opponent, the more Daniil Medvedev likes it.
Who, in order to get political again, can live with every decision regarding the United Cup, which is due at the beginning of next year. At the Olympics, Russian athletes would compete under the Olympic flag, and he could imagine that for the new team competition as well. Whereby: That would be the flag of the ATP. And if Tennis Australia, the ATP and the WTA should decide that Russia will be excluded from this new competition, then he will play in Adelaide. Because in addition to his pronounced humorous touch, Daniil Medvedev also has a very pragmatic one.
Here the individual tableau in Vienna
viennamap