Daniil Medvedev - The tennis owl from Moscow rises to the World Cup throne
Daniil Medvedev won the last title of 2020 at the ATP Finals in London. The Russian has more than confirmed his outstanding preseason.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Nov 23, 2020, 11:13 am
At the somewhat sad end of eleven World Cup years in London, it was perhaps the right scene. Daniil Medvedevs, the man who rose to ATP champion 2020 in the desolate haunted house of the O2 Arena on Sunday evening, did not move the slightest expression at the moment of his greatest career triumph. A victory without jubilation, excitement or joy. A big moment on a big stage without much emotion - it was exactly as the strange Russian had imagined. “Everyone does something special when they win,” said Medvedev after his 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 4 victory over Austrian favorite Dominic Thiem , “the special thing about me is that I don't celebrate. “So the owl crept to the network, grimly rather than grimly, received congratulations from Thiem - and then first wrote a few short messages on his mobile phone.
Medvedev (nicknamed “Bear”) would have had every reason to celebrate himself after the last seven days of tennis of this crazy, spooky and bizarre season. What was already indicated by the smooth opening win in the preliminary round against Alexander Zverev became the continuation of the largest ATP tournament without any fans: the 24-year-old Muscovite was the man through whom every path to the title led. Ultimately, however, nobody could bring the endurance and defense artist to his knees. In the end, the idiosyncratic Medvedev even managed the feat of beating the three leading ranking players with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Thiem - a novelty in World Cup history. And difficult to grasp for world champion Medvedev himself: "I'm not sure whether I'll be able to do something like this again in my life."
More like an extra during the Corona break
For a long time, Medvedev was one of those actors who seemed lost and easily disoriented in the corona pandemic. Until well into autumn, the Russian was mostly more of an extra in the tour scene, convincing at most was his semi-final at the US Open. In contrast, he was eliminated from the first round of the French Open, which had been postponed to the end of September / beginning of October. His final offensive was all the more remarkable. In the Masters victory in Paris and now in London he remained unbeaten, winning seven times against top ten competition. Time and again he saved himself from a distressed situation, close to leaving. "Medvedev has one thing above all: good nerves," noted former world number one Jim Courier in the American "Tennis Channel."
However, Medvedev had already proven his robust psyche 15 months ago when he first became known to the tennis world. At the US Open, he not only messed with his opponents, but also with the dreaded New York audience. The rough-legged fans whistled out the Russian after he even showed them the middle finger. But at some point, after legendary speeches and performances, they took him to their hearts as a beloved villain. He works hard to become “a good person” on the pitch, Medvedev said after the final defeat against Nadal, “next to the pitch I'm anyway.” Some also thought of Medvedev's youthful sins, such as an incident at Wimbledon - There, out of annoyance, he once threw a pile of coins in front of a referee's nose and was severely punished for it.
Medvedev with lots of tactical options
Medvedev's unpredictable nature is reflected in his game. Simply put: you never know what the 24-year-old will conjure up from his bat in the next moment. He often changes his basic tactical orientation several times in a game, from the forward thrust to the defensive bulwark and back again. While others are celebrating a real preparatory spectacle before their serves, Medvedev stands up and shoots off the next moment. It is not uncommon for his service games to last under a minute, sometimes with four aces in a row. “A lot is possible with me,” says Medvedev. And nothing impossible.
Medvedev will have his say in the next few years when it comes to the distribution of power in world tennis - the legacy of Federer , Nadal and Djokovic . Thiem, Zverev, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas , the Russian Andrej Rublev and the young South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner are also in this game for the important trophies. All applicants are still lacking the consistency, the staying power to set themselves apart as Crown Prince. But someone like Medvedev knows that he doesn't need to be impatient: "I still have ten years ahead of me, at least", he says, "I can still win a lot in this time."