Daniil Medvedev hasn’t played a match since his heavy defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost 6-0, 6-0.
Medvedev had made it to the Indian Wells final earlier that month, becoming the first player to beat Carlos Alcaraz in 2026 along the way.
Since then, he’s managed just one win and is still searching for his first victory on clay this season.
The former world number one suffered a surprising double bagel against Matteo Berrettini in Monte Carlo – the first of his career. He has since spoken about how long it took him to move past that loss.
Medvedev is preparing for his return at the Madrid Open, where he’ll play his first tournament since that loss to Berrettini. Speaking to Russian outlet Bolshe, he shared what the days after the defeat were like.
“Any loss in tennis, no matter what kind, is always tough for various reasons,” said Medvedev. “Some might undermine your confidence, if it’s in the first round and you lost in three to an opponent that you feel you should have beaten that can really undermine your confidence for the next tournaments.
“Sometimes when you play very well, for example when I lost to [Jannik] Sinner it was painful because it was a final. I could have lifted the trophy and won Indian Wells which I’ve never won before, that’s also frustrating. Not in terms of tennis or your confidence, but purely in terms of the result and 6-0, 6-0 is no exception.
“You feel bad because of the humiliation, because losing 6-0, 6-0 is humiliating, but that’s life, that’s sports. I’m not the first, I won’t be the last. In tennis or other sports, those days happen.
“Of course for a few days it was hard, I would say for probably a week it was tough just to get back into the rhythm and understand what to do next.
“But then again, if there were another tournament soon it wouldn’t have taken me a week. I knew the next tournament wasn’t soon, so we calmly got out of that state, we practiced well and now I’m playing better.”
Medvedev will hope to rediscover some form at the Madrid Open, where he has never made it past the quarterfinals in six previous appearances.
Last year, he lost at that stage to eventual champion Casper Ruud, who went on to claim the title. As the seventh seed this time around, Medvedev starts with a bye into the second round, where he will face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
He has reason to be confident heading into that matchup, having won all three of their prior meetings.
Other notable names in his half of the draw include Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Flavio Cobolli.
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