World No. 10 Daniil Medvedev shared his thoughts and preparation ahead of the start of the Madrid Masters.
Question: How are you feeling on clay? You said this year you had ample time to adapt to the surface.
Medvedev: I feel good. Unfortunately, after Monaco, I got food poisoning, caught some kind of virus. I couldn`t train for four or five days, even though I intended to start preparing right away. But I`m playing really well right now, we`ll see how things go here.
Question: Last year you reached the quarterfinals here for the first time and could have potentially won the title if not for the injury. How do you generally find playing in Madrid? Is there perhaps something about this particular clay that suits you better?
Medvedev: I wouldn`t say it`s more comfortable, as my results at other clay tournaments have actually been better. Last year was genuinely disappointing because I had three good matches. It was just bad luck. I ran for a drop shot and pulled my groin – that`s life. I hope physically I can make it to the end this year.
Question: How is training with Gilles [Simon] helping you find a new level in your game? What specifically has changed?
Medvedev: It`s difficult to give a precise answer. Some things you always do. The serve is the same – you go out and aim for specific spots. It`s tough to change much there. But there are new shots, and there are shots we haven`t worked on for a long time. It`s a constant process of seeking improvement.
Question: Can you specifically train patience?
Medvedev: You can train the psychological aspect. There are different techniques. Sometimes just breathing calmly could help in certain moments, but often I don`t have time to even think about it. That`s something you build up during training sessions. It`s a simple example, of course, but today in practice I was down 0-3 to Khachanov; I had to be patient, but I managed to come back and finish the set properly. Patience is extremely important, but it`s definitely a mental battle.
Marcus Blakely 
Gilbert Pendleton