Gilles Cervara and Medvedev's Roland Garros misery: Not in the mood for jokes
Gilles Cervara spoke about his protégé Daniil Medvedev in an interview with the online magazine Tennis Majors and examined the current clay court season from the Russian's point of view.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 29, 2021, 08:33 pm
It was the most prominent COVID-19 case to date at an ATP Tour tournament. Daniil Medvedev, at that time still number two in the tennis world, was tested positive for the corona virus days before the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo and was consequently withdrawn from the tournament. A hard setback for the Russian, who had not yet really warmed up with the sand underground.
Now the number three in the tennis world could at least get back on the tennis court. A return that took place under close observation: "In the first few days we closely observed the reaction of his heart, the reaction of his lungs to the exertion, we were very attentive to his health sensations in order to adjust our training quota. You recover not overnight after a week off, especially after contracting a little-known virus, " explained coach Gilles Cervara to the online magazine Tennis Majors.
"Significant" deficit due to the break in training
The gap that the 25-year-old had torn up on his competitors through the forced break was meanwhile "significant", as Cervara emphasized: "When you see Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has played 10 matches and the security he has got with nine wins - and he's not the only one. The extent of the training gap is unknown. I shouldn't compare ourselves to other players, we just have to focus on our own goals, "said the Frenchman.
Goals, the achievement of which is now a long way off. Especially since the Russian has had to struggle with great difficulties on sand in the past. This is shown in particular by the record of the world number three at the Grand Slam on the red ashes, at the Grand Slam in the Stade Roland Garros on the Bois de Bolougne, in which Daniil Medvedev is still waiting for his first individual victory in the main field.
A circumstance that the Russian has always been able to address with humor in the past, but which his trainer sees it much more seriously: "He has a lot of room for improvement on clay. He has never won a match at Roland Garros. They have us I've often seen us joking about what's good so as not to let the pressure get to us, but I don't feel like joking anymore. "
Here here for the interview with Gilles Cervara!