Rublev & Medvedev Bromance, Alcaraz On Debut & Djokovic Singing | Best Of Nitto ATP Finals Media Day

Elsa, Elsa and Anna. It's pretty cold. What's the theme song from there? Let it go, let it go, let it go. You're looking like a rockstar. Really? Yeah, look at you. That was the point. You turned it off, you genius. Ah, yes? I'm genius, thank you. Absolutely, yes. I do believe that the ATP Finals comes extremely close to Islam experience, you know. At Grand Slam you get to play even if you're ranked 200 in the world, in fact. But not many people can say that they've played the NITO ATP Finals. I mean, it was crazy emotions when I was able to win the match to being semis. Because I never achieved that. I think I had tears. And it was a special moment. You turned up genius. You're a genius. It feels great, honestly. I saw the players walking on videos last year. And I really wanted to do it, I wanted to be there. And this year to be able to do it, it feels great. How much energy do you get from the crowd inside this arena? Most people will be cheering for you. Yeah, let's see. I can't really tell you. I had a great feeling two years ago when I went on court with the crowd. The connection was great. And hopefully I can have a little bit or the same or maybe a little bit more of this connection. So let's see. But for sure the crowd is going to stay behind me in good times. But hopefully also especially in the bad times that they push me, that they give me some positive energy. And hopefully I can convert it in high-level tennis. It's my third time here and I'm happy to be back. No, seriously, I'm happy to be back and to be part of the best eight players. Going last, I don't know what else to say. It's great to be back here. This is the third time we are here in Torino. There is, I think, a couple of hundred meters, almost 300 meters altitude. And maybe the fans cannot feel it, but we can feel it on the court. The ball flies through the air, the conditions are played different. So it takes some days to really adjust. But it's lovely, lovely arena. Great to be part of this event again. And it's a great attendance. People are really passionate about tennis. I showed you a video from the ATP finals a few years ago. Yes. Can you describe what this was? That's me with Roger Federer. Very good moment. I wish he was here, to be honest. But such a legend. My big inspiration when I was a kid. I think they are working, but I was not very paying attention, to be honest, on this issue. What have you learned about how to play these finals in previous years? To be honest with you, I didn't learn anything in a way. Because what happened, if I'm not mistaken. First year, I got, let's call it, swept. I guess, zero wins, three losses. Then I managed to win it, make final. And then last year, swept, zero wins. So, it's very tough, it's very tough. From first match, you play against a top ten player. Which never happens on tour, other than here. It's not easy for both of you. And you have to play your best from the first match, if you want to try to win the whole thing. I'm expecting the best from every single player this week. I'm not expecting any less. It's like when someone kills you slowly, you know. And you feel it, that you are dying. If Algaras kills you fast, and sometimes you don't notice, Medvedev is killing you slowly, you know. There, taking the time, enjoying the moment. And you feel that you are dying, little by little, you know. I love it, to be honest. I'm gonna ask you one more for me. No, it's looking good on you, to be honest. Yeah, exactly. It's looking good. You've actually been to the ATP finals before. I want to show you a video. This is you. Ah, yeah, you're right. What was that? You know, it was a tournament under 14. You know, it was in London. Yeah, I won it, I remember that. I had the chance to see the matches a little bit. It was a great experience for me. You look so young on this. Yeah, I'm 14 years old. Well, it was six years ago, so it's not too far away. So according to that logic, it'll be your year this year. I don't know how it works exactly, because for the moment it's like one bad, two good, one bad. Maybe it depends if it's a spawn of three years, then it's a good one coming. If it's a spawn of four years, then the next year is mine. Yeah, so let's see. It has been Andre. Novak Djokovic, my competitor on Sunday. Wow. And he was still with Goran at that point. I think they've been together for a long time. What year was this? This was 2019. I remember. It's the same team as I'm playing on Sunday. That's cool. Yeah. No, it's amazing. It's amazing, you know, knowing that there was a small boy practicing being a hitting partner to now competing against him. It's cool. Was it like, oh my God, these guys. For sure, for sure. I was, you know, I feel like I didn't want to miss a ball because, you know, I was afraid they were getting mad at me because, you know, you want to do the best for them. But now, you know, now I don't want to do the best for him on the court. No, true. I don't know. Like Daniel said, since we were kids, we were playing with each other and to see ourselves playing at the best tournament together, also with Sasha, when we, I don't know, we know all of us, each other since we were, I don't know, 10, 11, and we played all the juniors. And to see now that we are here at the best eight players, it's a, I don't know, it's a special feeling and you don't really believe that that many years passed. I feel we're still the same 11 years old. I don't know. Maybe Daniel a bit not with his barba. Barba? He said barba. With his... Beard. Thank you. But it's a special feeling to be here with the players that we've been from the beginning. Andrey, as a member of the players council, give me this question. What has been going on with the ATP lately? I mean, Stefanos and I have faced each other a lot of times and we played against each other first match in a group stage last year here in Torino. So I know his game well. He knows my game well. You know, he's actually, even though he's young, but he's like one of the veterans, let's say, of this tournament with me and maybe MetaDev. Novak actually just called you a veteran. I am a veteran. I'm not a next-gen player anymore. I'm definitely a veteran and I would consider being close to Novak's age now, having played the ATP Finals edition so many times. The only thing is I probably lack eight trophies from the ATP Finals edition than Novak. Who is the funnest guy in your group? I think it's obviously in my group. It's Andrei, as you can see. As you can see, he's the funnest one. In the other group? No, no, it's Andrei. It's Andrei, yeah, the funnest. No ranking? No, in the ATP Tour, in the whole ATP Tour, it's Andrei. I don't know. Alekarres is a machine, man. He knows everything. He knows everything, man. He runs like crazy. He hit back and forth and drop shots, volley, serve. Mental part, he fights. He's a completely complete player at this young age. So to have a chance against him, you need to play at a really good level. Can you tell us about the meeting with the Carotta boys? Was this the first time you actually met them? And do you now know them by name? And do you feel fortunate to have such a devoted fan club that maybe even Novak doesn't have? They are more famous than I am, to be honest. Yeah, I got to know them a couple of days ago, so it was a great meeting. Obviously, I don't know them really, really well at the moment. I got the names, but I still got a little bit confused. But it's because they have this good-looking costume with the Carotta. But still, it's great to have this dedicated fan club, to be honest. And it's growing, so I'm happy for them. I hope they give me some good luck, not only for this week here, but also for the future. So it's funny. Rublev, yeah. His power. It's unbelievable the way he hits the ball. I practice with him sometimes. We broke some balls. It's unbelievable the power he has. His forehand is on another planet. He's really powerful. I think that suits pretty well. What have you learned this year? That you don't get what you want straight away. You have to be patient at times. You have to be working for the things that you really want to achieve. Before the injury, I was so close to being world number one. That was taken away from me. All of a sudden, after the injury, I'm 27th in the world. And then, of course, being back in the top eight, being back at this tournament, I'm grateful for that. Obviously, it's very special. Danilo, back in Italy, where you probably had the most unexpected title run. This year, you're still shocked. Yeah, I always forget about it, to be honest. You tell me, Italy, where you have it. I was like, what are you going to say? Your final is here. Two years ago, it was nice. I love playing in Italy. I think, honestly, Italian fans love me. I had great support all the time. I have been playing in Rome and Torino. So I'm happy to be back. Hopefully, I can show some good tennis. Then you had tears again this year in Monte Carlo. Yeah, also. This year, I like to cry. Are you getting more emotional the older you get? Maybe. I don't know. It looks like I like to cry. But I don't know. Yeah, but Monte Carlo was super emotional as well. Novak Djokovic. Do you actually enjoy playing him? Yes and no. I do enjoy playing him because it's amazing to share the court with such a legend. We have always had great battles together. Last time in Paris was not long ago. It was also another good battle. I hope to learn a little bit from that and do it a bit different this time. So I can get the win. How do you beat him? Because you have beaten him. Yeah. I cannot wish that he missed a shot or wish that he has an off day. Because he loses probably four to five matches a year. So he doesn't have the off days. The only wish you can have in yourself is to try to play your best tennis and be the most focused on the court in your life. So it's like you have to be ready to give everything. As I said before, he's an octopus as well. He doesn't miss anything. It's incredible to find a way to hear him as a winner. So I think that's the most difficult part of facing Daniel. Against Sascha we will play 18th time. And I saw that it's a record without playing at a major. I think a couple of times it was me who didn't go to the stage where he was waiting for me. Sometimes it was him. But it is what it is. It's our probably fifth meeting this year. Or maybe even sixth. So we play a lot. And many times we have very entertaining matches. Last match I managed to beat him and play well. So I'm going to try to do the same this time.