Hurricane Daniil Medvedev, the most talented obnoxious of the ATP circuit

Very tall, a little lanky, with a difficult smile and lacking the physique and muscles of some of his colleagues, Daniel Medvedev It does not impose a presence outside a field. Inside, the story is different. Master of an unorthodox tennis, but very powerful and very difficult for his rivals to face, he was among the best in the ATP for several seasons. It was he who ended the nearly 19-year reign of the Big 3 topped the chart and hit No. 1 for the first time in February, by crowds Novak Djokovic. He has a Masters title and another Grand Slam on his bulletin board. And today is the hurricane that overwhelms the ATP circuit, which has him as the most talented unpleasant.

The 27-year-old Russian won his fourth title of the year on Sunday, defeating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the final – his fifth in a row – of the Miami Masters 1000. Thus he extended his impressive record this season to 29 wins (30 , counting one by easy win or stroll the one added in the third round of the match) and just three defeats: in the semifinal by Adelaide against Djokovic, in the third round of Australian Open against Sebastian Korda and in the final of Indian Wells before Carlos Alcaraz. On purpose, returned to number four in the chart and put his name among those who could aspire to reach the summit in the coming months.

When it comes to tennis, trophies and numbers, nobody disputes that the Muscovite is among the most talented in the world. However, never ceases to seduce the public, with whom he has a relationship with many ups and downs. It is that his explosive character and his tendency to protest and lose his mind during matches have earned him that hostile foil that has accompanied him since his early years.

Daniil made it clear from an early age that he wasn’t going to let anyone get in his way. When his parents took him at the age of 9 to a club in Moscow to start taking swimming lessons, he preferred the institute’s tennis school.

And at 18, after studying at prestigious business schools in the Russian capital and spending a year at university MGIMOone of her country’s most elite, she decided to move to France and concentrate fully on her sporting career.

It took him a few years to carve out a place on the circuit because it took him some time to realize that he had to really put in the effort if he was to get the most out of his game on the court. In 2018 he started training more intensely and taking better care of his body: changed his diet and he left aside the sweets, his weakness. And immediately she started to reap good results.

It was in those years that he said a sentence that made a lot of noise and made it clear that he didn’t care what people thought. “When I was 10 I hated Roger Federer. I couldn’t bear to see him win over and over again. From the first round he supported his rivals,” he assured.

The way he usually behaves during matches hasn’t helped (and doesn’t help) his popularity: few smiles, many frowns and frequent collisions with refereestheir rivals and fans. The situation in which she lived US Open 2019during his third-round match with the Spaniard Feliciano Lópezhe comes back to the collective memory every time his character is discussed.

During that match, he threw down the towel that was thrown at him. ball boy and when the audience booed him for that attitude, he flipped the middle finger, which cost him a $9,000 fine. He won but amidst the insults he responded with ironic gestures towards the grandstand and then upped the ante by declaring that he appreciated the boos because the hostile climate helped him play better.

Some time later, recalling that episode, he recognized: “I have to be a better person on the pitch. To be honest, I was an idiot.” And when he was crowned in Flushing Meadows a couple of years later and added his first Grand Slam, he was cheered and had nothing but words of affection with the people of New York However, he was far from completely freeing himself from controversy and becoming a model of fairness.

On several occasions he fought with the authorities of his parties. “How can you referee a Grand Slam semi-final if you’re so bad?” he yelled at the referee. Jaume Campistol during the final in Australia last year. Even with his rivals: he had a strong verbal exchange with him diego schwartzmann In the ATP Cup of 2020. And also with his coach, Gilles Cervaraduring the final of Halle last June, when frustrated because he could not find the return to the game, he gave him a cry that rang in the air and made trainer left the stadium.

In recent weeks he has once again generated controversy by exploding against the organizers of Indian Wells for the characteristics of the tournament courses.

“This pitch is a shame for the sport. It should be forbidden to play here. It’s a shame to say it’s fast,” he said disillusioned during the match he beat in the round of 16 Alexander Zverev.

A self-confessed detractor of brick dust -“I don’t want to play on this shitty surface,” he even said in a match in Madrid a couple of years ago-, after being crowned in Miami, he thanked the tournament for putting together a “court really fast”. .

“This is a really tough course. It made me very happy to play here,” he said with an ironic wink at what had happened in the Californian desert. And then she concluded: “If I had the choice, it would only be played on hard courts”.

His different face off the pitch

That obnoxious, controversial and short-tempered version of Medvedev certainly responds to his competitive spirit. “Playing to win at everything is in his DNA, in his skin. When we play pool, you feel the tension between us, because he wants to beat me and so do I,” his coach said during his time in Miami.

However, the Muscovite, lover of videogames, reading and chessOff the field it is very different. According to Cervara, in his free time he is very nice and funny. And very clueless.

“Sometimes we agree to eat together in the canteen of a tournament. I arrive first, buy food and occupy a table. He arrives later and sits alone in another that is nearby. Sometimes I take a picture of him and I give it to him I send it so you know where I am”, the trainer.

Aside from the fact that he’s still not keeping quiet about anything, his “manners” on the pitch have improved a bit lately and he seems to have a better rapport with the spectators. Maybe that change is the product of the maturity that comes with age. Perhaps, with a record that is growing, that obsession with winning has calmed down a bit and he has learned to digest defeats better. and maybe even fatherhood softened him a bit: Last August, his wife Daria gave birth to their first daughter.

“It’s the best gift I’ve received. I was present at the birth and those emotions are much more than winning a title,” he commented at the end of last year.

In late February, after being crowned in Rotterdam, he showed his softer side when he said: “My wife told me that the other day, while I was giving an interview in court, she put my daughter in front of the TV and she started to smile. She’s a very sweet, very quiet girl.”

Controversial and sometimes hostile on the pitch. Friendly and relaxed outside. Those two faces of Daniil Medvedev coexist with the unconventional and enormously talented tennis player, who is having a great time.