Tennis takes top billing in Montreal this week at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, but hockey is a year-round passion in these parts.
In Montreal, the Habs take centre stage. What does Daniil Medvedev make of Canada’s national pastime?
“Not my favourite sport, but somewhere in the middle,” the ever-honest Medvedev said as he addressed the media on Monday.
But, this week’s third seed added, “a lot of sports, a lot of different shows, I prefer to watch on TV rather than live, just because it’s more cozy, you have more time. Hockey was one of the sports where when I watch it on TV, it’s so tough to follow the puck. When I watched it live, I loved it because you could follow the action much closer. So yeah, I like it as a sport but not my favourite one.”
What is undeniable is that Medvedev is back on his favourite surface, hard courts.
It’s where Medvedev won the 2021 tournament in Toronto and reached the final in 2019 in Montreal, beaten only by the legendary Rafael Nadal.
READ: After ‘beautiful’ Olympics, Auger-Aliassime ready for NBO home push
Beyond that, Medvedev’s lone Grand Slam crown came on hard courts at the U.S. Open later in 2021 — over a Novak Djokovic chasing the calendar year Grand Slam — as well as 18 of his 20 career titles.
He was deprived of a second hard court Major by Jannik Sinner at this year’s Australian Open, seeing a two-set lead dissipate in the final as part of a draining fortnight where the 28-year-old contested four five-set matches.
Like this week’s hometown favourite, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev is making the transition from the red clay of last week’s Paris Olympics where he competed in singles, doubles and mixed doubles. While the adjustment can take time, he has felt good so far at IGA Stadium.
“I’m really happy,” said Medvedev, who gets a first-round bye. “That’s where I feel the best. It’s not easy to change surfaces, so even when I come back on hard courts, it’s not that easy. I need some time. But even today in practice, I could feel that I’m running the fastest.Like I’m not that fast on the clay or grass as I am on hard courts. I control the game, I feel where I need to make the next shot, and it’s a good feeling.”
Despite all his success on hard courts, Medvedev did lose his opener in Montreal two years ago — to a Nick Kyrgios who just competed in the Wimbledon final. His first match this time around won’t be against a Grand Slam finalist. Instead, he meets either Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Roman Safiullin, his doubles partner at the Olympics.
Feature photo: Sarah-Jäde Champagne
Featured in this news
Related news
