“Daniel is an Alien”: Chesnokov on Medvedev’s qualities, Alexandrova’s breakthrough and Sharapova’s career

“Sharapova needs victory”

- Thanks to the victory in the tournament in Shenzhen, Ekaterina Alexandrova became the first racket of Russia. Does it surprise you, given the fact that a year ago she occupied the 72nd line of the world ranking?

- Not at all. She is well done. Two years ago, I saw that this is a very bright interesting tennis player who can play really well. In the finals, she defeated Elena Rybakina, a promising athlete, who rises higher every week. Therefore, for Catherine it is a great success.

- In your opinion, what can she count on at the upcoming Australian Open?

- It is difficult to say how ready she is for victory, but when you win the title before the Grand Slam tournament, it definitely gives confidence in your abilities. Do not forget that we have other tennis players that can go far on the net. First of all, I mean Daria Kasatkina. But the advantage of Alexandrova is that she demonstrates very fast tennis. He impresses me.

- You did not mention Maria Sharapova. The five-time TBS winner began the season with a defeat against Jennifer Brady in the first round of the tournament in Brisbane. What are her prospects?

- I do not think that this result can be considered indicative. The match was equal, and Maria had a chance to go further. It is worth remembering that in tennis the first round is always the most difficult. The American still participated in the qualification, and for several months Sharapova had no playing practice. She holds two to three matches a year, because she is constantly injured. I would like her to speak at some small tournament, perhaps not the most powerful players from the third, fifth hundred of the rating. Because victories even in such matches give confidence in one's abilities. If she had such an experience before meeting with Brady, she would have been easier.

- In the event of a defeat at the start of the Australian Open, will Sharapova think about ending her career seriously?

“I don't think so.” I always say that in such tournaments it’s not enough to be in good shape, successfully go through the preseason and be ready to defeat anyone. You should be with a net. At the 2017 US Open, Sharapova beat the second seeded Simone Halep in the first round. She needs to swing too. If she falls on a weak opponent, she will regain confidence.

“So the point is not the lack of motivation?”

- Hard to tell. But in my opinion, she needs victory. Because tennis players like Brady can do it.

“Next year they will win the tournament”

- Andrei Rublev won the tournament in Doha, but neither Stan Wawrinka, nor Milos Raonic, nor Fernando Verdasco met him on the way. Can it be considered significant?

- In any case, he is well done. The fact that the rivals took off does not diminish the significance of his triumph.

- Rublev wanted to play for the Russian team at the ATP Cup, but the status of the country's third racket did not allow him to do this. Andrei called such an attitude of the organizers unfair ...

- He preferred to play, rather than watch how others do it, although in Doha he could stumble already in the first round. In addition to Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov, three more players showed up for the tournament: Teymuraz Gabashvili, Konstantin Kravchuk and Ivan Nedelko. For their participation, they received $ 50-60 thousand each. They have earned the same amount over the past two years. Although at the ATP Cup, in fact, everything was done by Medvedev and Khachanov.

- The formats of the ATP Cup and the new Davis Cup are very similar. How appropriate is it to hold the same team tournaments with a difference of a couple of months?

- Both competitions are very interesting, each in its own way, so I do not see any contradictions. The past Davis Cup format was bad in that the organizers could not collect all the leading players in any way due to the spread of stages. Therefore, many stars, such as Andy Murray, Roger Federer, ignored this tournament. And now all four tours are held within one week. It turned out very dynamically.

- ATP Cup semi-final - success for the Russian team, or could it count on more?

- Yes, this is certainly a positive result, and most importantly - a very good training and practice before the Australian Open. In the semifinals, we lost without exaggeration to the star team, which in the end, confidently beat the Spaniards in the final. Do not forget that it was our guys who prevailed over the Serbs in the quarter finals of the Davis Cup.

Of course, we always count on the highest places, but we need to understand that the ATP Cup is a very prestigious tournament, in which Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Tim, Stefanos Tsitsipas participated, that is, almost the entire elite. And the Russians looked worthy against their background. If they also perform next year, I’m sure they will win the tournament.

- Why did Khachanov fail to break Dushan Laiovich’s resistance at key moments in the meeting?

- I was hoping that Karen would beat him, but it was clear that physically he was not quite ready. It’s hard to say what this is connected with.

“So it's not a matter of psychology?”

- Psychology is directly dependent on physical fitness. It is interconnected. If a tennis player is physically weak, then the psyche is very mobile. And vice versa. But at least there were matches in the tournament in which Khachanov looked very good. Therefore, I think he has every chance next time to beat Liovich.

- Lajovic and Khachanov are rivals comparable in level, so the skill of a tennis player plays a decisive role in such matches. Does this mean that more skillful rivals are too tough for him yet?

- Partly yes. In general, the ATP Cup is a good indicator of how tennis players are ready for the Australian Open. Judging by the tournament, we can say that Djokovic is the main contender for the victory. Then comes Nadal, and only then all the others, including Medvedev. In addition, Federer always appears at the last moment, who goes out and starts to wave his racket so that everyone is surprised at his performance.

“Perhaps by mid-year, Medvedev will be the first in the world”

- Medvedev showed not the best tennis in the match with Djokovic and, by his own admission, “overslept” the first set. What is the reason for such instability?

- Daniel really just gave the first batch. But he had not played against tennis players of this level for a long time. Adaptation was needed. But in the second set he returned and played very well, had every opportunity to win. But Djokovic looked phenomenal at the end of the meeting. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with this defeat. In general, I would say that the match was comparable to the Australian Open semifinal.

- At the same time, the US Open final with Nadal was supposed to help Medvedev overcome the psychological barrier in the game with the best of the best. Judging by the performance in the ATP Cup, how much did he succeed?

- Sometimes it seems that Daniel has no nerves at all. And this did not appear now, but during the last year's American series. Remember the US Open semifinal, in which at the decisive moment he broke the resistance of Grigor Dimitrov. From a psychological point of view, Daniel looked unrealistic. From the outside it seems that everything is easy for him, but it is not. In training, he performs hard labor, which I myself have witnessed. Now I understand where his physical and moral stability comes from.

- Despite this, sometimes he gives vent to his emotions, which translates into conflicts with judges and rivals. In your opinion, is this done on purpose and helps him on the court?

- You know, it is very difficult to evaluate. From a psychological point of view, Medvedev is an alien; I don’t know which definition would be better. He is always on his own wave. Errors can be pointed out to him, and he will perceive this criticism in his own way. But this is very good for tennis, it is this that gives him the opportunity to win. In addition, I repeat, we see how well Medvedev acts on the court, but during training he suffocates, suffers, clenches his teeth and works.

- Do not you think that cooking in your own juice and at the same time keep the bar high throughout your career is too energy intensive? Will this play a trick on him in the future?

- It's hard to say how much is enough. So far, he has nothing to lose. Moreover, due to the fact that its growth, in fact, began from the middle of last season, in the next four to five months it will actively gain points and, possibly, will become the first in the world by the middle of the year.

- For the first time since 2005, three Russian representatives were in the Top 20 of the ATP ranking . Can we talk about the era of male tennis?

- Yes, Medvedev is in very good shape and could potentially win the Grand Slam tournament. Khachanov and Rublev are less likely, but they can also go far along the grid. But I do not think that this is the merit of the Russian Tennis Federation (FTR), which states that it contributes to the success of domestic players. In the case of Daniel, Karen and Andrey, I do not see this. The current successes are the merit of the athletes themselves, who work tirelessly, and most often outside the country. In general, all Russian tennis is mainly supported by the enthusiasm of parents and coaches.