Monte Carlo Tournament | Tsitsipas and Medvedev, two visions of clay

(Monte-Carlo) One, Stefanos Tsitsipas, returns to clay with relish; the other, Daniil Medvedev, with revulsion. But both are aiming for the crown, Sunday at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo.

“It’s always a pleasure to come back to the clay season, it’s one of the most fascinating times of the season. To be at home, to start the season on gravel in Monte-Carlo which is my favorite place on earth…”, the Greek, double defending champion and 3rd in the world, has no words to express his pleasure before entering run.

“Are there really any players who like to be dirty after playing on clay? I do not like ! After playing on clay, the socks you can throw away because you wash them and there is still dirt in them, ”laments the Russian (5th).

Winner of the 2021 United States Open with his flat game and his balls that shoot like a laser, he also castigates the unpredictability of the rebounds on the crushed brick.

“I practiced with Holger Rune (before the tournament started, editor’s note) and in one game he made four barely decent serves, but there were four false rebounds and I missed four times. I don’t think it’s normal for there to be false rebounds on a tennis court. Some like it, I don’t! “, he insisted.

For Tsitsipas, who played a final on the ground of Roland-Garros (2021) and one this year on the hard of the Australian Open, it’s the opposite: what he doesn’t like is the uniformity, according to him artificial, of the hard courts.

“I’m super happy to be playing on a natural surface again. We’ve been grinding on these hard courts for quite a long time and I find it refreshing to be back on a natural surface like clay. This is where the best tennis is played, it’s good for everyone, for injuries, for the body, and it’s one of the best surfaces for playing exciting tennis.” he.

It must be said that since his title at the end-of-year Masters (2019) played on hard indoors, it is on ocher that he has won his two biggest tournaments (out of 9 titles in total), in this case in Monte-Carlo in 2021 and 2022.

On the contrary, none of Medvedev’s 19 titles have been won on clay: 18, including the 2020 Masters, have been on hard courts and one on Mallorca in 2021.

“On hard courts, I’m able to analyze what I’m doing wrong during a point. On land, sometimes I feel like I’m doing the right thing and I get destroyed,” says the Russian.

On hard, “everything is based on the serve and the first serve. Me, what I like is the strategic and tactical side of clay, ”retorts Tsitsipas.

On clay, “you can always make a little mistake, defend and get back in the rally,” he said.

The two arrive in Monte-Carlo with opposite trajectories. Tsitsipas has won just three matches on the tour since his Australian Open final, when Medvedev, who had only reached the third round in Melbourne where he was the outgoing runner-up, then chained the titles in Rotterdam , Doha, Dubai, a half in Indian Wells and again a title in Miami.

“I would have liked to continue on hard! “Launches the Russian who, while acknowledging that he has fewer ambitions on earth, wants to believe in his chances on this misunderstood surface.

“I find it much harder to express my full potential on clay than on hard. However, I know that I am able to play well anyway. Once, in Monte Carlo, I beat Tsitsipas and Djokovic in the same tournament… So I’ll try to do well and maybe I’ll get a title on clay, who knows? “Launches the player who had also climbed into the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2021. He was then beaten by Tsitsipas.

Logically, the latter displays his ambitions more directly in Monte-Carlo. “I’m aiming for the treble,” he said.

It is not the subject of the surface that will bring these two players together in the cold. So we hope to see them battle it out on the court.