"Aslan looked very good": Yuzhny on Karatsev's victory, Medvedev's condition and Russia's chances at the Davis Cup

- After losing to Grigor Dimitrov at the Indian Wells tournament, Daniil Medvedev admitted that he was tired and therefore withdrew from the Kremlin Cup.

Will three weeks be enough for him to recover before the Masters in Paris?

- Daniel has a good, professional team, the training process is well established.

He himself is a very responsible approach to the matter, so I think that this is a balanced decision.

So, really, it was worth resting.

As for the trip to Moscow, a couple of days in the capital are unlikely to have any negative impact on the preparation.  

- Does Medvedev's physical condition at the end of the year raise questions?

- It is difficult to talk about its functional readiness in the last weeks.

After the US Open, Daniel took part in only two tournaments.

At the Laver Exhibition Cup, he played only one match, unlike the same Andrei Rublev, who went to court three times - and very quickly dealt with Denis Shapovalov.

And then there was Indian Wells, where Medvedev ended the fight in the 1/8 finals, losing eight games in a row, which is a great rarity for him.

- How big are his chances of competing for victory in the final

- I think that Medvedev can win in Turin.

Unlike a number of other tennis players, Daniel has already secured his participation in the tournament and is systematically preparing for it.

At the same time, not all eight participants have been determined yet.

Many tennis players will now give their all in the remaining tournaments in St. Petersburg, Vienna, Stockholm and Paris to get into the top eight.

As a result, they may physically approach him not in the best shape.

In general, the end of the season is usually very unpredictable.

- One of the contenders for getting to Turin is Aslan Karatsev.

Do you think he can surprise?

- Everything is possible in our world.

But it seems to me that the task is very difficult.

It turns out that he needs to win almost all subsequent matches.

Maybe a victory at the Masters in Paris will be enough.

However, there will be very serious rivals.

- It's one thing to win the Kremlin Cup, and quite another to win the Masters in Paris ...

- Exactly.

It will be very difficult.

Although we all remember how Aslan shot at the Australian Open and then began to climb higher and higher in the rating. 

- We have been closely following Karatsev only for the last year.

Can you call hard a perfect coating for it?

- Aslan looked very good indoors.

Therefore, I think that in the remaining tournaments, which will also be held on hard, he will show decent tennis.

- The Kremlin Cup was unsuccessful for Andrei Rublev.

He lost to Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the first match.

Affected by too little pause between tournaments in Moscow and Indian Wells?

- It's hard to say without being inside and without knowing the situation.

By indirect evidence, it is really possible to draw the following conclusion.

In Indian Wells, together with Karatsev, they gave their all and reached the final.

On the other hand, Aslan had the same number of days to rest, and he showed a completely different result - he won the Kremlin Cup.

- This week the

tournament is

- Hard to explain.

This is my personal subjective impression.

Although in Moscow I was also always very warmly greeted and emotionally supported.

But you need to understand that now is a different time.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions, the competition and atmosphere are changing.

- The tournament in St. Petersburg was just a lockdown in Russia.

Have you ever played in front of empty stands during your career?

- Of course not without fans.

But there were matches where very few spectators came.

The atmosphere on the court is completely different.

There is a feeling of emptiness, there is no energy, support.

It is much more difficult to play in such conditions.

- Last year, due to the cancellation of a large number of competitions in the northern capital, it was possible to hold an

500

- Unfortunately, in this situation, not everything depends on the organizers.

The decision is made by the ATP.

I know that St. Petersburg has long been ready and wants to hold competitions of a higher status, negotiations are underway.

- Immediately after the final

- It's hard to imagine that there will be any changes in this list.

In fact, all of our best tennis players were included in the squad.

There is no one else to play.

If someone is not ready to speak, then you have to cope without him.

Two years ago, we played without Medvedev, but showed a decent result, reaching the semifinals.

- What can the team expect this year?

- Of course, only victories will be expected from the Russian national team.

Our guys perform well and taught them the highest results.

Moreover, at the beginning of the year there was already a team victory in Australia at the ATP Cup.

However, again, the end of the season is a very unpredictable period in terms of results.

- What teams attract attention besides?

- In fact, there are a lot of them in the Davis Cup: this is Italy with Matteo Berrettini, Serbia with Novak Djokovic and Philip Krajinovic, Canada with Denis Shapovalov, Germany with Mikhail Zverev.

I would also not discount Spain.

Due to injury, Rafael Nadal will not play in the tournament, but the team has a very decent lineup.

- You have stressed several times that the end of the year is often unpredictable.

Is it fatigue?

- Yes, moreover, not only physical, but also psychological fatigue accumulates.

Of course, all this will affect the results of the athletes.

Therefore, making predictions now for the upcoming tournaments is like guessing on the coffee grounds.