“If you want to see your daughter a lot, your wife has to sacrifice a lot”- Daniil Medvedev credits wife Daria for helping balance fatherhood & tennis

Daniil Medvedev recently lauded his wife Daria for his ability to balance fatherhood with his tennis career.

Medvedev is currently in Miami to compete at the 2024 Miami Open, where he is the defending champion. Having received a first-round bye, the former World No. 1 will kick off his campaign in the second round against Marton Fucsovics. The winner of the match will take on either 30th seed Cameron Norrie or Flavio Cobolli in the third round.

Before beginning his title defense at the Miami Open, Daniil Medvedev spoke to Tennis.com about the challenges of balancing fatherhood and his professional tennis career. The 2021 US Open champion and his wife Daria welcomed their daughter, Alisa Danilovna, in October 2022.

Medvedev said juggling fatherhood and tennis was not an easy task, and acknowledged his wife's support in helping him do it. Medvedev credited Daria's sacrifices for being able to pursue the sport he loves while also spending quality time with Alisa.

“It’s not easy with tennis, because if you want to see your daughter a lot, then your wife has to sacrifice a lot. She has to travel with the baby, and many times it’s her taking the plane and not me. Being on a plane with a baby is not easy. I’ve done it a couple of times, she’s done it ten times more than me,” Medvedev said [via tennis.com].

Daniil Medvedev lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final

Daniil Medvedev during the presentation ceremony after losing the Indian Wells final to Carlos Alcaraz

Daniil Medvedev enters the Miami Open following a defeat in the final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The Russian entered the tournament seeded fourth. He booked his place in the title clash with wins over Roberto Carballes Baena, 29th seed Sebastian Korda, 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov, seventh seed Holger Rune and 17th seed Tommy Paul. However, he stumbled at the final hurdle and was beaten by second seed Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(5), 6-1.

Medvedev is yet to win a title in the 2024 season, having previously lost to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final despite being two sets up. He also reached the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships but was beaten by eventual champion Ugo Humbert.

The Russian has 14 wins out of 17 matches so far during the 2024 season.