The 2021 season was a particularly successful year for the younger generation. First major final for Stefanos Tsitsipas, six titles (including the one at the Nitto ATP Finals) and third place in the ATP charts at the end of the year for Alexander Zverev. And Daniil Medvedev? He went a step further, won his first title in a Grand Slam tournament at the US Open - and for a long time gave Novak Djokovic a high-class fight for number one at the end of the year.

As is well known, nothing came of this, but no reason for Eurosport expert Alex Corretja not to trust the Russian to catch up on this achievement soon. "He's a cool guy, he's a guy who I think will be number 1 in the world, 100 percent, and he's going to win more grand slams because his opponents won't find a way to beat him," said the Spaniard. On hard court in particular, Medvedev is currently one of those players who are considered almost inviolable.

Medvedev is not always the crowd favorite

The reasons for Corretja are in particular the high game intelligence of the 25-year-old as well as his "ability to solve situations", explained the 47-year-old. "He has a way of playing that is almost effortless and he enjoys suffering in matches as he enjoys provoking people a little, be it in Madrid, be it in New York, be it in Australia , he must have the feeling that he is part of the show, "explained Corretja. "And I think he enjoys it most when he feels like people don't understand how he's acting."

The Spaniard is clearly responding to the show that Medvedev put on just a few days ago in the course of the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid. There, too, Medvedev drew the public's displeasure, for example when he emphasized how special it was to precisely eliminate the Spaniards in their homeland (and in more than one way). The predominantly Spanish audience saw it differently, of course. But it is precisely these things that make Medvedev particularly strong for Corretja: "This is the moment when he becomes exalted and thinks that he has won the whole situation. He does not care whether it is in Australia, in Spain or is in New York. He wants to distract you, put you on the wrong track. "

Medvedev an intelligent player

The second in the world ranking is by no means unfair, as the Spaniard emphasized: "He never crosses the line as he says. He does it so that he touches you on the nose here, but he doesn't hit you. He allows it, that you get hot, that you get upset, that you lose your temper. " And that's exactly the moment when Medvedev would say: "I've got you, I'm exactly where I want to be," Corretja explained.

Overall, in all these situations it becomes clear what an intelligent player the Russian is now, said Corretja: "I think he's a very clever player who knows exactly how to make an effort and he understands it. To be honest , I find it always more interesting to see Medvedev, both on and off the pitch. "