Daniil Medvedev takes DC Open by storm after Ibiza vacation, Wimbledon reset

WASHINGTON, DC—Carlos Alcaraz has made Ibiza his annual summer vacation spot after Roland Garros. Daniil Medvedev made the trip after Wimbledon, eager for a reset after an underwhelming Channel Double.

“It was my first time there, and I’d heard only good things from my friends,” Medvedev told me at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Thursday. “You can do anything there: you can sit and chill or go to the party. We kind of did all of it, so it was pretty fun. I always try to have some kind of time to relax, so I can come back to the practice court and meet with my team to work even harder.

“It’s great that it’s been working for a couple of matches.”

The former world No. 1 and self-proclaimed “hard-court specialist” is giving that vacation glow on his favorite surface this week, posting back-to-back match wins to kick off the US Open swing and erase memories of his first-round exits from both Paris and London.

“After Wimbledon, I was sitting there and felt like I didn’t play that bad, but you’re losing first round and you know that the guy is probably going to lose in the second or third round,” the eighth seed said with his inimitable candor. “I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t play that bad and I’m losing first round of a Grand Slam, second time in a row.’ It does bother me.

“At the same time, after a couple of days in Ibiza, you realize that the only way forward is to work hard. If it doesn’t work out, then that’s life. Life is ups and downs with some bumps on the road. I sometimes take a good example of some players who are 30 and doing amazing results. Some players after 30 just drop down. So, anything is possible. I just need to do my best.

“I feel like maybe some things I could have done better, like on the practice court. Maybe, I’m not sure about it. But if I want to try and be better, I need to do some things better.”

Medvedev began the week by reuniting on the practice court with SW19 conqueror Benjamin Bonzi, getting some revenge over the Frenchman who had slid past the two-time semifinalist in four sets.

I know that, when I’m playing good, I can beat anyone—literally anyone. Maybe against Carlos and Jannik, the odds are going to be on their side but I can still beat them. Against any other player, I’ve beaten most of them many times. Daniil Medvedev

“He made one bad game on serve, which he didn’t do at Wimbledon at all,” Medvedev recalled. “I broke him and then I didn’t serve for the set. I think I won the tiebreaker, which is actually funny because I lost the two tiebreaks at Wimbledon.

“It was a little but funny how it came about because my coach came to me like, ‘Bonzi asked me to practice.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever, let’s do it. I don’t care.’”

Despite diminishing returns at major tournaments and a drop in the rankings, the 29-year-old has remained upbeat about his chances to contend with the game’s best. After all, it was only 18 months ago that he was a set away from winning the 2024 Australian Open—and that was when he was in the midst of a 12-month shoulder injury that impacted his serve.

“I know that, when I’m playing good, I can beat anyone—literally anyone,” he told me emphatically after his 6-3, 6-2 win over Wu Yibing. “Maybe against Carlos and Jannik, the odds are going to be on their side but I can still beat them. Against any other player, I’ve beaten them many times.

“So, I know when I come back to this level, I can beat anyone. That’s where the optimism comes from, and I’m working hard trying to find this rhythm. Then the results and rankings can come.”

As he works towards a well-earned vacation, Medvedev will next face France’s Corentin Moutet for a spot in the DC Open semifinals.