The top two spots in the world rankings have been dominated by only four names since 2005. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray were those players. However, 2021 witnessed a stunning development as a new star burst into contention, emerging as the only man barring those two to finish in the top two spots since 2005. Russian Daniil Medvedev represented the individual who had finally managed to achieve this unique milestone, in a massive achievement. Medvedev had defeated Djokovic, Nadal and Dominic Thiem who occupied the top three spots in the world rankings, during the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals to mount a serious surge for glory. The Russian became the first player to trump the top three players in the tournament's history and on ATP Tour since 2007.
Medvedev is a force to reckon with on hard courts, having won 11 of his 12 singles titles on that surface. The same includes ATP Masters 1000 championships in 2019 Cincinnati, 2019 Shanghai, 2020 Paris and 2021 Toronto. One of the many significant performances which define Medvedev's character would be the triumph against Nadal. The Spaniard served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but the Russian fought back brilliantly to win 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. Medvedev had never defeated Nadal before but showcased his prowess through a fine display of aggression and composure, as the latter slowly and steadily crumbled. The Russian enjoys strong character as evident from a statement by coach Gilles Cervara in an exclusive interaction with ATPTour.com.
"In matches, adversity makes him (Medvedev) find the best in himself. The match is the most important part to find his best and sometimes during practice, you cannot reach this level of adversity. Matches make these players better for sure. Daniil has a good mindset to keep focussing on what he has to do only," said Cervara.
"When we play, we fight to win. When we play different things on the court, he wants to beat me and I feel if I beat him, it becomes important for him to play against me to beat me. He has this inside himself and I think it’s very, very important to be a top-level player. If you don’t have this, it could be tough. It saves your life when you’re in trouble," he added.
One of the most vital aspects of Medvedev's gameplay is the supreme lateral movement, pace and lung capacity which he enjoys, enabling the Russian to excel from the backcourt. He further enjoys a strong serve backed by a superb return, with the latter enabling him to hit full-swing groundstrokes rather than blocking the serve back into play. Medvedev's capabilities are well evident from a statement by Djokovic following a defeat against the Russian in the 2019 ATP Masters 1000.
“If someone serves more than 200 km / h on the second serve, goes on almost every ball and doesn't serve double faults, you just have to take your hat off and congratulate him. From 4: 3 in the second set, he played incredible tennis. There wasn't much I could do about it. I brought my racket to the ball on the return, but I couldn't adjust to the aggressiveness. He has huge confidence and I congratulate him. He deserved to win," said the Serbian tennis star following the defeat.
Australian Open: F (2021)
French Open: QF (2021)
Wimbledon: 4R (2021)
US Open: F (2019)
