For a long time now we have seen the ‘Big 3’ of tennis dominate the sport. However, it looks like their reign may be coming to an end as we are seeing the rise of the NextGen players like Daniil Medvedev.
Over the last 2 years, we have seen the Russian rise up in the rankings and he is currently the World No. 4. How did he get there? Like any other player, he got there by working on his weaknesses. His fitness coach Eric Fernandez discussed how he is able to move fluidly with this size in a recent interview. He said,
“When he arrived in Cannes, Daniil already had this natural ability to move well but muscularly, it really was not good. With he, we have insisted a lot on the work of the lower body. It is essential in tennis to resist the constraints of movement and find a fluidity at the level of the supports. It is particularly so for Daniil with his style of play.”
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Daniil Medvedev 2021
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Working on some of his weaknesses clearly helped Daniil as we saw him rise in 2019. In that year, he reached the final of the US Open and won 2 Masters 1000 titles which was absolutely amazing.
At the start of 2020, Medvedev wasn’t doing very well as he lost in the early stages of many tournaments. However, towards the end of the season, he started playing his best tennis again. This led to him winning the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals to end his season on a high note.
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Going into 2021, the Russian is surely one of the favorites at the first Grand Slam – the Australian Open. In previous seasons, he only managed to reach the fourth round but hopefully, he will change that when he plays next year.
Read More – Andy Murray Details Why Delaying Australian Open 2021 By Two Weeks Is The Best-Scenario for Tennis Players