Medvedev recalls his beginnings: "At home, I imagined playing against Federer or Nadal"

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Daniil Medvedev was never a tennis prodigy. Unlike other great champions of his generation, the Russian did not dominate the junior circuit or emerge as a future star from a young age. However, his constant evolution eventually led him to the number 1 spot in the ATP rankings, a journey he now recalled in an interview with the ATP.

The former world number one confessed that the dream of reaching the top was always present, although he never lost sight of advancing step by step. "I always wanted to be world number one, but I always went step by step."

Medvedev also fondly remembered his early childhood years when he spent hours hitting a ball against the wall of his apartment while imagining facing his great idols. "When I was very young, I played against the wall in my apartment. My parents hated me for that. I hit the racket against all the walls and they ended up completely marked. As I played, I always imagined I was facing Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal."

Far from being one of the great promises of world tennis, the Russian acknowledges that he never held top positions in the junior rankings and that very few people believed he could reach the elite. "I was never the best junior. I was always a good player, but I never held the number one spot in any of those rankings. I was always a bit in the shadow and I believe that if you asked people who knew me then, even my coaches, if you had told them that one day I would be top 10, they probably would have said: 'Well, in tennis, anything is possible'."

That condition of a silent contender turned into a motivation for Medvedev himself, who never needed the media spotlight to grow as a player. "But I doubt there were many people who thought I would become world number one. People didn't consider me a great promise, but I always liked being under the radar," he confessed.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Medvedev recuerda sus inicios: "En casa me imaginaba jugando contra Federer o Nadal"