“I feel zero pleasure of being on the court,” said Daniil Medvedev following a frustrating loss in his first group stage match of the ATP Finals on Sunday. Playing against Taylor Fritz, Medvedev was clearly not in his prime form. He even committed three consecutive double faults to lose the opening set. As a result, he was seen expressing uncontrolled emotions, throwing his racket and getting a warning. But what’s really going on in Daniil’s mind, making him extremely disturbed and disappointed?

Medvedev’s frustration grew as he was broken in the second set by a lucky lob winner from Fritz. The American apologized for the fortunate shot, but Medvedev’s anger was evident as he angrily tossed his racket behind the baseline. Whereas Fritz appeared to be more focused and determined in his gameplay. Thanks to a steady performance, he managed to clinch the battle with ease, winning in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-3. It’s worth noting that this was Taylor Fritz‘s first-ever victory over Medvedev.

Before the encounter in Turin, Medvedev was leading the head-to-head counter between them. In their last meeting, back in 2022, the Russian had the better of Fritz in the QF round of the Cincinnati Masters. However, in the recent face-off, nothing went in favor of Daniil as he kept having a meltdown. So much so that he even threatened to leave and retire from the match! “I’m gonna retire. I’m gonna retire, man. I’m gonna retire if you don’t give me a ball. I’m gonna retire right now,” he told the chair umpire when the latter refused to give him a spare ball, as reported by Express.co.uk, dated November 10th.

Daniil’s statement probably came off a constant burnout this season and not getting expected results. After reaching the final of the Australian Open, back in January, he failed to make it big in 2024’s subsequent tournaments. In his last appearance, at the Paris Masters in October, Medvedev couldn’t even advance past the Round of 32. He was ousted by Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, who won the match 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. As far as his latest outburst is concerned, Daniil Medvedev revealed his honest feelings in the post-match interview on Monday.

“I feel zero pleasure of being on the court. So no surprise at all about the match today,” he said. This reaction was something that was piling up inside him for the past two, three years. It appears that the tennis routine has now made him disinterested to play – at least for now. “I have this every day, day in, day out, since like two, three years. Every practice is a struggle. Every match is a struggle.” He revealed that he “was holding for long time” but in Turin, he couldn’t stop from showing what he’s been going through. Nowadays he’s simply “tired to fight it. I’m tired to fight against something that doesn’t depend on myself. I’ll see how it goes.”

Although the situation is tough for him right now, the 2020 ATP Finals winner will want to improve and get ready for what’s to come next.

Daniil Medvedev wants to prepare himself for the 2025 season

It appears that the current World No. 4 is not thinking too much about how his stint at the ATP Finals will turn out. But when it comes to the next season, the Russian is aiming to make a strong comeback. Compared to his schedule in 2024, he’s looking to make adjustments next year to get better results. “We will try something…

We’re not sure it’s going to work. We will have a good pre-season, try to see what I can do better from my side. I feel like I’m in a big disadvantage, but I need to do something with it. I can find the way through some matches like Shanghai, Beijing, and US Open. I can fight my way. I can try to find solutions in the match,” said the player when asked if his team will try to make adjustments for 2025. Coming back to his ATP Finals campaign, Medvedev will not have an easy ride this week.

In his second match, he’s going to play against Australia’s Alex De Minaur. The latter was a winner in their latest h2h fight earlier this year. During the French Open, in the Round of 16, Minaur managed to defeat Medvedev after trailing in the first set. He took the match with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3. Still, the Russian can infuse some confidence in himself, given the fact that he’s still leading the overall head-to-head tally by 6-3. Undoubtedly, he would like to extend this lead further when he faces Minaur once again in Turin on Tuesday.

Do you think Daniil Medvedev will leave his disappointing show from the first match behind and give his best against Minaur? Let us know in the comments.