Daniil Medvedev: I showed terrible mental game against Rafael Nadal at ATP Finals

Russian tennis superstar Daniil Medvedev was disgusted with the way he finished his match against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal at the Nitto ATP Finals last year. 

Medvedev, who was on the brink of beating Nadal at The O2 Arena last year, blew a huge third set lead as 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal recovered from a 5-1 third set deficit to beat the Russian 6-7 (3) 6-3 7-6 (4). 

"It was a really good match until 5-1, but [...] you can only say it was terrible [...] A terrible mental game from you, terrible tennis game because you can't lose a match when you are up 5-1 and a match point," Medvedev recalled blowing a big lead against Nadal at the Nitto ATP Finals, per Nikolaus Fink.

Last year, Medvedev was beaten in each of his three matches played at the Nitto ATP Finals and this year he hopes to have a much better campaign.

"Hopefully I can get some wins there. No other goal than just to get some wins, because you play 3 [...] top-10 players in the group. [I have] no goal to really like win the tournament or anything. Just to win matches," Medvedev added.

Medvedev now in a much better position

On Sunday, Medvedev recovered from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev in the Paris Masters final 5-7 6-4 6-1 and lift his first title of the season.

"Last year I was really exhausted, I lost in the first round in Paris. That's when you lose your confidence," Medvedev said. 

After dropping his serve in the ninth game of the second set, Zverev's game fell apart as Medvedev won the second set and then collected three breaks in the decider. 

"At the end of the 2nd set I was tired, I was dead. The match against Mannarino was very challenging. I knew I had to get it done in two sets," Zverev revealed.

"I have some strange pain in my thigh. I have to check what it is. It didn’t feel good at the end. That wasn’t the reason I lost - I was also tired today." 

Zverev was accused of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend Olya Sharypova but he doesn't appear too much concerned about those allegations.

"I know that there's gonna be a lot of people that right now are trying to wipe a smile off my face but under this mask I'm smiling brightly. I feel incredible on court [...] everything is great in my life. The people who are trying can keep trying," Zverev said, per Tumaini Carayol.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2UaNCjf