MIAMI: Miami Open champion Daniil Medvedev said he will try to keep his sensational start to the year going as the tour shifts to the clay court season, but said he is realistic about his prospects on a surface where he has enjoyed far less success.

The Russian called himself a “hard court specialist” at Indian Wells last month while complaining about the slow speed of the courts and it is hard to argue with his expertise.

He won his fourth hard court event of the year at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Jannik Sinner and his lone Grand Slam title came on the US Open’s concrete courts in 2021.

Sinner had upset world number one and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final, but the 21-year-old struggled in the Miami heat against the fourth seed Medvedev, who triumphed 7-5, 6-3.

The win was Medvedev’s 19th career ATP title and his fifth in a Masters 1000 event and confirmed his dominance on hard courts in 2023.

“I love hard courts. If it would be my choice, it would be only hard courts,” he told reporters.

“I feel the best at my game on hard courts. Even if I know that I can play well enough on the grass and clay, on hard courts I feel the most fluid. I can play not my best tennis but still win the matches. That’s a big difference.”

The vanquished Sinner even joked that perhaps the European clay could help slow down the hard-hitting Medvedev, who claimed titles in Doha, Rotterdam and Dubai and finished runner-up at Indian Wells before his triumph in Miami.

“Now clay season starts so let’s see how you do there, but I wish you all the best,” Sinner said with a smile during the trophy ceremony.

It has not been all bad news for Medvedev on clay. He made the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2021, the semi-final at Monte-Carlo in 2019 and has beaten some of the sport’s biggest names on the surface.

“I know that I can play well on clay,” he said.

“I beat Novak [Djokovic] once on clay. I actually beat [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and Novak at the same tournament once, wow. That’s pretty good achievement on clay.”

But working against him is the limited amount of time he has to prepare ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins April 9.

“The earlier you lose in Miami, the more clay court practice you can get,” he told Tennis Channel.

“So the first tournament is going to be tough. I’m already preparing myself mentally not to lose my mind if I play really bad in Monte-Carlo.

“But maybe not? The confidence is still there. I am going to try my best and see how it goes.”

Meanwhile, Sinner, also beaten in the Miami final two years ago and now with a 0-6 record against Medvedev, said he had not been at 100 per cent.

“We woke up this morning not at my best, I felt a little bit sick....unfortunately today I couldn’t play at my best,” said the Italian who, however said there had been no question of him pulling out of the contest.

“No, it was not that bad. But, you know, with the heat, when you run a lot, it gets a little bit worse and worse. Obviously the first half an hour we played in the sun also,” the Italian said.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2023