Medvedev reveals what he incorporates into his game by watching other sports

Daniil Medvedev could be the dark horse of this US Open, as he has just made it to the round of 16 after defeating Arthur Rinderknech convincingly and still does not know what it is like to lose a set in the entire tournament. The former world number 1 already won here in 2021, and he is brimming with confidence despite having lived through a season full of ups and downs. In fact, he has talked about this and surprised everyone by revealing that he looks at other sports to continue improving his tennis.

In Cincinnati, a desperate Medvedev was seen saying during a match that he should take up pickleball, and in today's press conference, he highlighted that he is also a fan of baseball. In fact, Daniil claims that he pays close attention to the mentality of athletes from different disciplines to implement it in his game and in his approach to matches. In the next round, he will face the winner of the match between Frances Tiafoe and Valentin Vacherot, so he will have a very tough test no matter who wins.

Medvedev analyzes his good form at the US Open

What a great feeling! Arthur is a very tough opponent. He has a powerful serve, he can complicate things for anyone, and he has proven it many times. I’m glad I was solid and won the match. That’s the most important thing. I’m looking forward to facing my next opponent. Today was a great match, if I had to rate it from 1 to 10, maybe a 7.5 or 8. I’m quite hard on myself. I know there were a couple of moments when I could have done better, but it was a great, solid match where I beat a tough opponent, and I'm very happy.

Good form after a season of ups and downs

Why? Because it’s sport, and tennis perhaps even more than other sports. It’s very technical, mental, and physical. So if you have a slight pain in your calf, your serve might be a bit worse. You might feel a bit worse mentally because of it, and you could lose a match when you’re at 5-4, 0-40. It’s normal in tennis to have ups and downs. When you know you’re the number 1 in the world, you want to have more highs than lows, but it can happen that you have some lows. I just try to stay focused on my goals, try to play better, win the match at that moment. I’m happy to have played very well today and to have advanced to the next round. I hope to keep improving from now on.

Changes in positioning against rivals

It’s a difficult question because it’s a bit like what I said in the first answer: it depends. When you have confidence, you serve well and feel at your best, and you can reach the semifinals or finals of Grand Slams, you don’t care what the opponent does. They can serve from within the court, outside, far, close, whatever. You just serve well and prepare for the next point. When you lose a bit of confidence, you might serve far or too close; you feel the pressure either way.

I think it can be effective because it’s part of the tactic. If you move closer, you push a little more, you give the opponent less time and expose yourself a bit with the next shot. If you move away, you have a safer option and get closer to winning the point. But also, maybe it gives the opponent a bit of time to think about their shot and make a better one. I like it when people change position and try to find answers. I do that sometimes too. I always ask myself that question. I know that most of the time I'm far away, but during the match, I always wonder if there’s a moment when I should step up, and if I feel I should, I will.

Different feelings depending on the tournament being played

That’s what drives some people mad during tennis matches. Some people are more reluctant and can stay calm, but inside they are crazy on another level. Some show it a bit more, yes, that happens sometimes, but it also occurs. There are many different scenarios where I could mention some tournaments where I felt awful before the tournament, like a Masters or something, and I ended up winning it. Maybe the first round was tough and I should have lost or something like that.

And vice versa, sometimes you think: “Wow, this is my tournament! I feel good, I’m going to make it to the final or something like that,” and then you get to the first-round match, and it’s nothing like in practice. As I say, the most important thing is to trust yourself, trust what you’re doing, and always try to find the solution. Fight for your goal, and if you believe in it, someday it might work out.

Medvedev talks about his special relationship with the New York crowd

I played daytime matches, so they are usually a bit less exciting, but there is a lot of affection, a lot of fun. When you’re winning, it’s a bit ambivalent because of course the crowd wants to extend the match, so they cheer a bit for your opponent. But I felt that I received a lot of support during these three matches. I love it. I love playing in New York, so I enjoy it a lot. And whether it’s day or night, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just enjoy my time on the court.

Match against Vacherot or Tiafoe

I’m going to watch for a while if they show it on ESPN or ESPN2. If they air it there, I will watch it. If they don’t show it, I know their game, so I'm not going to get into details like: "Oh my God, he missed his forehand, maybe it's the ball!" If they show it, I’ll enjoy the match because it’s a great encounter. It can be very interesting. A bit exciting. They are two great players with somewhat different styles, so I’ll see who wins and prepare for the winner.

What does he implement from other sports into his game?

Whenever I watch any sport, I try to pay attention to mental details, because, you know, it’s the same in all sports. For example, you see a great baseball player who makes, I don’t know, 50 million a year because he’s a great baseball player, and then he goes through a bad patch, can’t hit well, and everyone thinks: “Oh my God, he’s done!”, and suddenly, bam!, for a month he shines again and things like that. If we talk about serving and pitching, I think it’s a bit different in structure. So it’s hard for me to relate that exactly. But I would say that the similarity lies in the fact that sometimes the serve fails, even for the best pitchers, and you see a match and it goes wide, they can’t throw the ball in the strike zone. 

The same goes for serving. You know, I know my serve is excellent, and it can be even better, like in these three matches, where I only lost one. In others, like against Botic in Montreal, I lost six in two sets. A terrible day for the server, but well, you have to practice, as you say, sometimes try to distract the returner, even though they will try to do the same. And that’s precisely why sport is fun. I think all sports on the planet are fun in their own way, and then one decides whether they like them or not.

How he chooses which ball to serve with

Normally with the current balls, you look for less fluffy balls to get a bit more speed, especially on the first serve. I think some, on the second, do the opposite. I, from my experience, try to choose the two fastest balls to serve. It’s a bit different because these US Open Wilson balls don’t fluff up as much. Sometimes they even dry out a bit, and then it’s different because you look for the fresher ball. That’s how I do it, at least. But again, that’s why sport is fun. Each player serves differently.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Medvedev desvela qué implementa en su juego al ver otros deportes