Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev in action during the recently concluded Australian Open. (Getty Images)
There is no denying that Russian Daniil Medvedev has all the potential to become a future tennis star.
Already tagged as a ‘Next Gen’ star alongside German Alexander Zverev and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, Medvedev had a breakthrough season last year.
The current World No.5 reached six consecutive tournament finals, including the US Open, which he ultimately lost to World No. 2 Rafael Nadal. He also achieved a career-high ATP ranking of World No. 4 in September. To date, he has won 7 ATP titles.
Meanwhile, Medvedev’s rivals in the ATP circuit were asked to describe the Russian in one word and the replies that came out were quite interesting.
His fellow countryman and current World No.17 Karen Khachanov described Medvedev as ‘octopus’ due to his attitude of clinging on to a game and not letting go. Medvedev’s companion in ‘Next Gen’ of stars, the German, Zverev, on the other hand, laughingly said that he would call him a ‘spider’. Another ‘Next Gen’ player Tsitsipas, meanwhile called him ‘patient’.
Former World No.3 and 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic described Medvedev as ‘resilient’, for his ability to adapt to difficult situations and make the best out of them.
Croatian Cilic’s countrymate and youngster Borna Coric, on the other hand, called him ‘friendly’. He later added that he was a ‘good person’ too.
World No.10 David Goffin described Medvedev as ‘crazy’ for his on-court behaviour and antics. Canadian Denis Shapovalov, whom many consider as a talented future player, took some time to give him a name, finally settling with ‘unorthodox’ after his not so conventional way of playing tennis.
Meanwhile, Medvedev who in the past has admitted that he plays an unorthodox brand of tennis, claimed that he does not think about it. He added that he does so because all he is trying to do is to play the ball in the court.
“Basically, when I play, I don’t think about it because well I am just trying to put the ball in the court and then when I see myself on videos or photos, I am like what am I doing here,” Medvedev said jokingly.
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