Daniil Medvedev has no complaints about playing as a Russian outcast at the Paris Olympic, with the world No. 4 excited to show a game built for hardcourt on the clay.
The tennis event at Roland Garros will be an outlier for the Games which has traditionally stuck to cement since the sport returned to the fold in 1988.
But Medvedev hopes to use this week at the Monte Carlo Masters to start polishing his technique on the dirt.
He won the Rome title last season – his only one of clay – and reached the semi-finals here in 2019.
With the Paris Olympics to be staged in familiar territory on the French Open clay, motivation is keen for the former US Open winner.
“I went to Tokyo (in 2021) thinking it would be just like any other tournament, one I would try to win,” Medvedev said on Monday.
“But there was something special there, I was really motivated to do well
“When I lost in the quarter-finals I was very disappointed – it was almost as bad as losing a Grand Slam final.
“I was really, really down for some time after that,”
The Russian said that despite the fact that he will not be able to play under his national flag nor participate in the Games opening ceremony, his experience will not be diminished.
“I want to play the Olympics whenever I can. I will represent what I can represent.
“I know who I am and why I play tennis.”
