WATCH: Daniil Medvedev apologizes for clay shade with more shade in Monte Carlo

WATCH: Medvedev visited the Tennis Channel Live Desk after winning his fourth title of the season at the Miami Open.

Daniil Medvedev has become one of the ATP tour’s most quotable players, with each time in front of the microphone a new opportunity for the former world No. 1 to inveigh with a cleverly conjugated insult.

Surfaces struggles have become a familiar beat for Medvedev through an unforgettable Sunshine Swing that that featured two finals, one title, and a new catchphrase as the self-proclaimed “[hard-court] specialist” turned his attention to his historically reviled clay courts.

Missing much of last spring with injury, many remember an underwhelming 2021 season during which Medvedev cast numerous aspersions on the surface—and the players who thrive on it—famously muttering “If you like to play in the dirt like a dog, then I don’t judge” during an Internazionali BNL d’Italia defeat to Aslan Karatsev.

Medvedev revisited the remark ahead of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he once reached the semifinals with a win over Novak Djokovic, but ultimately pulled no punches in his pre-tournament press conference.

“When I was talking about clay, I exaggerated a bit—a lot,” he explained in French. “After all, there are players who like to be dirty after playing on clay. I don't like it, I cannot lie.”

Following that up with a new read, he added: “The socks, you can throw them away because you wash them and there is still dirt in them!”

The former world No. 1 nonetheless prepares a transition to clay after the most successful first quarter of his career, winning 24 of 25 matches to earn four titles out of five finals.

“I wish we could continue on hard,” he said on Monday. “I understand that there are different surfaces on tour and I think that’s good because someone is better on clay, on hard, or grass. I understand it cannot be 12 months of hard courts and it’s good to have these different surfaces; I think it’s good for the sport. But me? I prefer hard courts; I’m not going to lie”

Seeded third in Monte Carlo, the brutally honest Medvedev will open against either Ugo Humbert or Lorenzo Sonego.