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Daniil Medvedev continued his strong start to the season, beating fellow Russian Karen Khachanov to book his spot in the semifinals of the 2023 Adelaide International 1 — the season's opening tournament.
Speaking about adjusting his expectations ahead of the new season in his post-match press conference, Medvedev said he was always working hard irrespective of how low or high the expectations surrounding him are.
"I don't know. I put high expectations on myself all the time, but the most important thing for me is to work hard and try to do my best. Talking about other people, I don't know," Medvedev said.
He added:
"I don't know which expectations they put at me right now. Even if they are lower, I will try to make everything I can so that they are high again."
Medvedev beat Khachanov 6-3, 6-3 to progress to the semifinals of the ATP 250 event, where he will face World No. 5 Novak Djokovic. Addressing his performance on the day, Medvedev said he was "pretty happy" with his level despite it not being his strongest match.
"Happy with my level today," Daniil Medvedev said. "I think it was maybe the strongest match, but both second round and today were pretty happy about my level. Playing against Karen, not easy."
Medvedev was down a break early in the second set, but bounced back in style to win five straight games from 1-3 to seal the tie.
"It was a tough match. He had the upper hand in the second set. I managed to raise my level at the end of both sets, and that was the key part today," he added.
Daniil Medvedev says he's ready for the season
Turning the attention to the season's first Grand Slam, the 2023 Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev said it was tough losing last year's final to Rafael Nadal despite him feeling "great."
"It's tough to say because last year in Australia I felt great. It's then that I was feeling tougher. Of course losing in the final to Rafa being up didn't help. You never know what event exactly could lead to you playing worse after, and you never know what's going to happen this year."
The Russian added that there was no way of predicting the future, and that he was focused on working on the present.
"I don't know what happens in the future," he continued. "I cannot change the past. The only thing I can do is work on the present, and in the present I feel great. I feel fresh. I feel ready for the season. Hopefully this can lead to some great results."
