Medvedev on defending title at 2020 St. Petersburg Open: "Naturally, there's some pressure"

Daniil Medvedev became the champion of the 2019 St. Petersburg Open and he will try to do the same also in the 2020 as the first-seeded player of the tournament.

Currently the highest-ranked Russian players, Daniil Medvedev will lead the field at the 2020 St. Petersburg Open. Similarly to the last year, he is the first-seeded player and will try to defend his title from the last year. Unlike the usual title defence, he will be able to actually earn some points to the ATP Rankings. The St. Petersburg Open has been promoted from ATP 250 event to ATP 500, and so Medvedev can still improve his points after the tournament in Russia. Ahead of the tournament, he said:

“Naturally, [as defending champion] there is some pressure, of course… If I show good tennis, I will have a good result,” said Medvedev. “I can play tennis, and if something doesn’t go well, then you can lose, so it’s a pressure on myself that you can feel during the match.”

“Judging by the draw, the lineup is very strong… I [have] got a difficult draw, but sometimes it's better to start a tournament with tough opponents,” said Medvedev. “I will have to show my best game at the tournament from the get-go. In any case, I always have a philosophical attitude towards the draw. I can’t change its results, so I am just preparing for my next opponent. I hope to show a good [level of] tennis.”

“I will try to train as much as possible to prepare for the tournament… It seems to me that two or three days are enough to be ready to play the tournament when you are switching from clay to hard, so I feel that I am ready. [We] will see during the matches but I think I'll be 100 per cent ready.”