PETE ZIEBRON
At age 23, Daniil Medvedev is the hottest player on the ATP Tour. He is number four in the world. Here is some insight about how he arrived there.
On March 10, 2018, I saw Daniil Medvedev in person for the first time at Indian Wells. He beat Steve Johnson 7-6(0), 6-4. Following the match, I sent a message to a friend, colleague and former ATP player, asking:
What are your thoughts about Daniil Medvedev’s game? He really impressed me in his match vs. Johnson. He gets everything back. Forehand & backhand strokes resemble Murray’s.
The response I received back was:
I agree with everything you say, Pete. I like him too, but I feel like he needs to add a big weapon to finish points when he has to. He has the ingredients, so it could be any weapon. He just needs one.
Fast forward to 2019. This year in Cincinnati, I was saw the arrival of "the big weapon" that Medvedev needed - a blistering second serve. In the semifinal against world #1 and defending Cincinnati champion Novak Djokovic, Medvedev was down a set. Midway through the second set, he decided to change his strategy and go big on his second serve. From that point onward, Medvedev won 9 of the next 12 games, and won the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Following the match, I asked Medvedev about this tactic.
TA: Five second-serve aces tonight, looked like you really started going big on the second midway through the second set.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I didn't know it was five. Yeah, as I said on the court, at one moment, I think it was 3-All, 30-All when I did the first time, and I was standing there before my second serve, and I was, like, I'm losing literally. I don't know the percentage I had, but in my opinion I had, like, 20% the second service won. Especially in the crucial moments, he was pushing me.
So I say, If I do one double fault it won't change my life. Same result. But if I put it in, it's maybe going to be an ace, and I actually made a good decision to do it like this.
Later that day, I asked Djokovic about Medvedev’s change in tactics:
TA: He started changing his tactics, going bigger midway through the second set. How were you attempting to cope with that at that point?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: I thought I played a really good match. Yes, maybe in those games, especially in the third set when I was broken, I could have done a little bit better, but, I mean, when someone serves a 128-miles-per-hour second serve and doesn't make too many double faults and goes for every shot, I mean, you just have to put your hat down and congratulate him.
I mean, he played amazing tennis from 4-3 in the second set. Not much that I could really do. I mean, I tried to return his serve. When I had my racquet on the ball, I was returning his serves, but you can't really prepare yourself for someone serving that big second serve consistently, from 4-3 to the end of the match, with maybe two double faults out of God knows how many serves.
Well done. I mean, he definitely has a lot of confidence. When you have so much confidence, then you allow yourself to go for these kind of shots. I congratulate him. He deserved to win the match.
The Russian arrived in Cincinnati having played consecutive finals the previous two weeks, losing to Nick Kyrgios in the Washington and to Rafael Nadal in Montreal. The only set he would lose in Cincinnati would be the opening set in his semifinal against Djokovic. After that, he would sweep David Goffin in the final to take his first Master Series title.
Following Cincinnati, Medvedev reached the US Open Final, losing to Nadal in five sets. Nadal broke a 12-match winning streak. Medvedev continued winning titles in St. Petersburg and again at the Shanghai Masters 1000, reaching six consecutive finals. Medvedev has won 21 of his last 22 matches, as well as 29 of his last 33 matches, losing only to Nadal (twice) and Kyrgios in this span.
Daniil Medvedev is currently 4th in the world in the current ATP rankings, and clearly the hottest player on the tour.
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