Daniil Medvedev reveals what is damaging his game

09/27/2024 08:30 AM

Daniil Medvedev defeated Gael Monfils at his debut in the ATP 500 in Beijing, where he lost to Jannik Sinner in the final last year. That match was very important for their rivalry, because the Italian ace had never beaten the Russian until then. After the triumph in Beijing, Jannik’s career is turned and the current world number 1 defeated Daniil several times in 2023 (in the final of the ATP 500 in Vienna and in the semifinals of the ATP Finals in Turin).

Medvedev has not raced a bad season so far and is still in the top positions of the ATP ranking, but he did not win even a title in 2024. The champion from Moscow reached the final at the Australian Open earlier this year, but had to surrender to a great Sinner despite a two-set lead on the Rod Laver Arena.

The 2021 US Open champion is not playing his best tennis and was defeated by Sinner at the 2024 US Open, failing a great chance after the premature eliminations of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Daniil didn’t even shine at the Laver Cup last week, losing to both Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton in Berlin. The Russian hopes to get a good result in Beijing and will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino for a place in the quarterfinals.

Medvedev is making some changes to his game to return to the top of the ATP ranking, following the advice of his coach Gilles Cervara and former French ace Gilles Simon. Happy with his performance, far from the balls. Daniil Medvedev has expressed new criticism on the subject, which players have been very often discussing in recent months.

"Every week I feel like they can’t be slower, but they can’t. These become super huge and after two games it’s almost impossible to make a win unless you have a very fast hand like Sinner, Alcaraz and maybe Dimitrov. We knew at one point that we could make winners, but we just ran and pushed the ball into the court. I managed to do better and I won" are the first considerations of the Russian tennis player in a press conference. The Muscovite has passed the ATP 500 debut in Beijing against French Gael Monfils with a score of 6-3, 6-4 and now prepares to face other Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

"With Gael it’s never easy, you’re sure to get tired. There were a lot of exchanges, I think he got tired a little more than me and so I managed to make him lose some rhythm. I am working hard on my serve, which keeps improving more and more. I think and repeat that in the last 2-3 years the tennis balls have worsened. It is more difficult to play, serve, trade and even hit winners. My opinion is that it depends a lot on this aspect and that’s why many tennis players make more errors," he told the media.

A little review of the season: "I have no titles, so I would definitely like something more. But it was a continuous up and down: some good moments, others a little negative. In my opinion it’s all experience at the end, I like touring life in general. There are still some tournaments to go. In a way if I can play these competitions well, I could say that the year was a success. I wouldn’t say it was great but not bad either. I’m number 4 in the standings" concluded Medvedev.

The rise of Alcaraz and Sinner is a further obstacle for the Russian ace, who will have to improve even more if he wants to win other Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles. “No matter the tournament I play, I want to win,” he said before the Beijing ATP 500. “The player list is very strong, just like last year. If I want to win the tournament, I have to bring my best level from the first to the last match. It won’t be easy, but it’s the goal.

Regarding the draw, when Sinner, Alcaraz play, you know you’re not the top two seed, you know it’s going to be tough. In the semi-finals, you’re going to have to play one of them if they get there. I will take it step by step, try to improve my level step by step, and hopefully I can show some good tennis” – he added. The tournaments to be played in the latter part of the season are very well suited to Medvedev’s style of play, who has always shown exceptional consistency on the hard court.