Daniil Medvedev won a US Open and made 5 other hard-court Slam finals, so this is his time to shine

WASHINGTON (AP) – Daniil Medvedev figures this is his time to shine: He loves playing tennis on hard courts like those used at the D.C. Open. And he loves the U.S. Open, which is just a month away, in particular.

Doesn’t matter what else he’s done this season or how things ended for him at the Australian Open, French Open or Wimbledon. He’s reached six Grand Slam finals in his career – all on hard courts.

“Usually, this is the most important part of the season for me,” Medvedev said in an interview in Washington, where he was scheduled to play Corentin Moutet in the quarterfinals on Friday. “And this year, it’s really important for me, because I didn’t have the best year. I had a lot of time after Wimbledon, so I’m feeling ready and I feel in good shape.”

After dropping his opening set at the D.C. Open this week against big-serving Reilly Opelka, Medvedev took the next four sets he played at an event where he was the runner-up in 2019.

What works so well for the 29-year-old Russian on hard courts?

“A lot of different things. My ball goes through the air the most. My serve goes faster. And this year, the courts seem pretty fast. On the ATP lately, the courts seem to only get slower and slower. But here it’s super fast. I like the way it plays,” said Medvedev, who has been ranked No. 1 and is No. 14 this week, his lowest spot in more than six years. “It’s one thing to like the way it plays and it’s another thing to win. But I do feel like I can do big things.”

He certainly has in the past.

Any list would have to start with his championship at the 2021 U.S. Open, where his victory in the final prevented Novak Djokovic from completing the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since Rod Laver in 1969. Medvedev was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in New York in 2019 – who could forget the back-and-forths with spectators that year? – and then to Djokovic in 2023.

Medvedev also participated in three finals at the Australian Open, losing to Djokovic in 2021, to Nadal in 2022 and to current No. 1 Jannik Sinner in 2024.

He’s twice been a semifinalist on Wimbledon’s grass, and even made it to the quarterfinals at the French Open on red clay, his least favorite surface.

This time around, Medvedev bowed out in the second round of the Australian Open in January, and then the first round of both the French Open in May and Wimbledon in June.

He hadn’t lost consecutive first-round matches at majors since 2017 – in his first two appearances at those events.

Asked whether he tends to dwell on that sort of thing or tries to forget it, Medvedev said he would put himself “kind of in the middle.”

“It does bother me,” he said, thinking back to his 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 setback against 64th-ranked Benjamin Bonzi at the All England Club. “Like after Wimbledon, I was sitting there, and I actually felt like I didn’t play that bad. And you’re losing (in the) first round. You know that the guy is probably going to lose in the second or third round – he did lose in the second round. You’re like, ‘Damn, I didn’t play that bad and I’m losing first round of a Grand Slam, second time in a row.'”

Medvedev said he got over it, in part, by heading to Ibiza for a couple of days of relaxing on the beach and having fun.

And then it was time to get back to work – with a positive mindset.

“I know that when I come back to this level, I can beat anyone. And so that’s where the optimism is coming from,” he said. “Just work hard and try to find back this rhythm, this level, and then results can come and rankings can come.”