Medvedev's Last Time: Wrong Airport, Celebrity Selfie & His Cooking Specialty
Daniil Medvedev reached his first final of the 2020 season on Saturday, defeating Milos Raonic to reach the Rolex Paris Masters championship match.
When is the last time you think the Russian missed a flight? Medvedev doesn’t like asking celebrities for selfies, but which football star did he break that rule for?
Learn all that and more in the newest installment of ATPTour.com’s ‘The Last Time’ series.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Last time you missed a flight…
To be honest I missed [a flight] only once in my life if I’m not mistaken. It was long ago after Karen [Khachanov’s] wedding actually, which was going for two days and which was a little bit not easy for everybody who was there. I had to do my Australian visa the next day in Paris, which was really tough because after the wedding — the wedding finished at like 3 or 4 in the morning — I had a flight at like 7 in the morning from Barcelona to Paris.
I got it, I caught it, I made it and then I had the next one from Paris to Nice to come back home. I actually was really tired and I went to Orly because usually the tickets are cheaper from Orly [Airport], so I was sure I had the ticket from Orly. When I arrived I was like, ‘Okay, what terminal am I?’ I saw Charles de Gaulle and there was no way I could catch the flight. That’s probably the only time I missed a flight.
Last time you lost something important…
I lost something really important when I was coming back from St. Petersburg, but I already got it back. It’s a document that is really important to travel. Fortunately, I had a second document with me.
Last time you paid money to rent a tennis court…
I would say normally it was in Russia and of course when I was practising, I was paying for it sometimes. I don’t remember the last time, probably long ago.
Last time you strung a racquet…
I actually have never strung a racquet in my life. I don’t know how to do it. I hope I’m not the only one, but I’ve never strung a racquet in my life. I don’t think I would be able even to start it. Nowadays, we are in the 21st century, I would try to Google it. I would probably succeed.
Last time you cooked for yourself or for other people…
I am really bad at cooking. I think the last time would be a year ago because all the quarantine I spent with my wife and she’s a really good cook. She’s happy to cook for me, which is good, and if not we order some food.
I think I cooked something for my wife one year ago after Shanghai. It was edible. I can cook some meat and pasta, but nothing fancy. I don’t have the skills to do anything more than this. Meat and pasta, it’s not bad.
Last time you met a childhood idol…
To be honest we meet them every tournament. We don’t think about it anymore, but [it’s] when we see Rafa and Roger. When I was six they were already playing an unbelievable level. These are childhood idols and maybe we don’t appreciate it that much because we are close to their level sometimes on the tennis court, maybe beating them sometimes. I see them every tournament.
Last time you shared a hotel room with another player…
Last one was in Australia. I was playing a Challenger three years ago just before I won my first [ATP Tour] title in Sydney. It was a Challenger close to Adelaide, in Playford. I was sharing a room with a French guy whose name is Hugo Grenier, my good friend, because we practise together. That’s where I actually understood I could speak French quite good and that’s where I got my confidence with the French language.
Last time you asked someone famous or even not famous for a selfie…
I don’t usually do it, even when I was not famous. I remember last year when I was having a vacation in Mykonos, I saw that Kevin de Bruyne was there. I have a friend who looks exactly like him. You won’t see a difference. People in Europe sometimes ask him for a selfie. I was like, ‘I have to get a picture with Kevin just for my friend.’
It’s a funny story, because my wife went to a shop in the middle of Mykonos, in the middle of the town. I saw a lot of people passing by a little bit excited and I was like, ‘Why were there suddenly some people?’ Out of the shop where we were came De Bruyne, so all these people around the shop were excited. They were like, ‘Selfie, selfie.’ I was like, ‘I have to do it, even though I don’t really like to.’
I came and I felt so stupid because… I was a little bit excited. I wanted to say, ‘Oh my God, my friend looks exactly like you!’ But he didn’t know who I was and as a tennis player I know when people start talking to you about their life, it feels a little bit strange because you are thinking, ‘We’re not best friends.’ I switched my mind completely and I was like, ‘Don’t say anything.’ I just said, ‘Kevin, can I take a selfie?’ I took a selfie and that’s it.