Medvedev: "The cramps helped me win"

Daniil Medvedev defeated his compatriot Karen Khachanov in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000.

Medvedev prevailed after a suspenseful battle, marked by a third set filled with breaks and physical struggles for the Russian.

When asked by a Russian media outlet about adapting to clay, he said: "It's clay, the first match.

I'd say those who grew up on clay still feel at home. They already know everything from the first match.

Karen enjoys playing on clay, but the first match is always tough—both physically and in terms of adjusting to the stress and sliding.

I was exhausted in the third set, but we played for three hours, so it's normal. And two games before the end, my legs gave out, and I got cramps.

Actually, it helped me because I realized I couldn’t just run anymore—I had to try to hit. That’s why the cramps helped me this time."