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Daniil Medvedev picked up the biggest title of his career on Sunday, beating Dominic Thiem in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals. Soon after the match, the Russian made an appearance on Gael Monfils' Twitch stream (alongside former World No. 1 Andy Murray) to talk about his breakthrough victory.
The Russian was understandably elated by the result, and claimed that the match was especially difficult given the form that Dominic Thiem was in.
"Today was probably the best victory of my life, not in terms even of the title, in terms of the match," said Medvedev. "To beat Dominic Thiem when he is playing like this, he is really tough. I think he actually likes the way I play, so it was really tough mentally. I’m just the happiest man in the world at this moment."
"It's just unbelievable" - Daniil Medvedev after beating Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during 10-match winning streak
The Russian was particularly happy to have turned things around over the course of the 2020 season. Prior to his unbeaten run at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, the 24-year-old had lost five of his last eight matches, and made a solitary semifinal at the US Open.
"It’s just unbelievable, because it’s 10 matches I’ve won in a row and two of the biggest tournaments at the end of the year," said the Russian."
Medvedev's lack of celebratory gestures after the final caught the eye of many, given the fact that it was the biggest title of his career. But the Russian asserted that he is trying to control his emotions, which in turn helps his tennis.
"My coach can have emotions, but I think they maybe turned the camera when it was the wrong moment. But also when I don’t have emotions, it’s tough for him. He’s alone there, and he will not be screaming alone," said Medvedev.
"It started last year at the US Open more or less when I had some problems with the crowd. I think every player at one moment in his career decides maybe one thing special he wants to do [with his] tennis, something like this," the Russian added. "I know how to keep my emotions, not all the time, [as] especially the bad ones are tough to control. But I know how to control them and [that] lets me [do] this thing."
For Dominic Thiem, the loss marks the second consecutive loss in the final of the ATP Finals. That, coupled with the fact the has also lost three of his four Slam finals so far, might be a cause for concern in future big matches for the Austrian.
