"It's always a pleasure to be back on clay, it's one of the most fascinating periods of the season. Being at home, launching the clay season in Monte-Carlo which is my favorite place on clay...", the Greek, double titleholder and 3rd in the world, has no words to express his pleasure before entering the competition.
"Are there really players who like to be dirty after playing on clay? I don't like it! After playing on clay, the socks you can throw them away because you wash them and there is still dirt in them, "laments the Russian (5th).
Winner of the 2021 US Open with his flat game and balls that shoot like a laser, he also castigates the unpredictability of bounces on the crushed brick.
"I trained with Holger Rune (before the start of the tournament) 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 that there are false bounces on a tennis court. Some like it, I don't!" he insisted.
For Tsitsipas, who played a final on the clay of Roland-Garros (2021) and one this year on the hard court of the Australian Open, it is the opposite: what he does not like is the uniformity, according to him artificial, of the hard courts.
"The best tennis"
Russia's Daniil Medvedev against Argentina's Facundo Bagnis at the France Open on May 24, 2022 at Roland-Garros © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP/Archives
"I'm super happy to play on a natural surface again. We've been grinding long enough on these hard courts and I find it refreshing to come back to a natural surface like clay. It's on this surface that you play the best tennis, it's good for everyone, for injuries, for the body, and it's one of the best surfaces to play exciting tennis," he said.
It must be said that since his title at the Masters at the end of the year (2019) played on indoor hard, it is on ochre 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 won on hard courts and one on Mallorca grass in 2021.
"On hard, I'm able to analyse what I'm doing wrong during a point. On earth, sometimes I feel like I'm doing the right thing and I'm being destroyed," the Russian said.
On hard, "everything is based on the serve and the first ball. What I like is the strategic and tactical side of clay," Tsitsipas said.
On land, "you can always make a small mistake, defend and come back in the exchange," he says.
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Monte-Carlo tournament against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on April 17, 2022 in Monte-Carlo © Valery HACHE / AFP/Archives
"Continue on hard"
Both arrive in Monte Carlo with opposite trajectories. Tsitsipas has won only three matches on the circuit since his final at the Australian Open, when Medvedev, who had only reached the third round in Melbourne where he was the outgoing finalist, then went on to win titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, a semi in Indian Wells and again a title in Miami.
"I would have liked to continue on hard!" says the Russian who, while admitting to having less ambition on clay, 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. Still, I know I'm capable of playing 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 win a title on clay, who knows?" said the player, who also reached the quarters at Roland Garros in 2021. He was then beaten by Tsitsipas.
Logically, the latter spreads his ambitions more directly in Monte-Carlo. "I'm aiming for the hat-trick," he said.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic at the France Open on May 28, 2022 at Roland Garros © Thomas SAMSON / AFP
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.
© 2023 AFP