Medvedev coach Gilles Cervara: "Daniil can't win Roland Garros in 2022, but Wimbledon"
Gilles Cervara, coach of US Open Champion Daniil Medvedev , analyzed the greatest triumph of his protégé in a detailed interview. And set the next goals in mind.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 17, 2021, 08:09 am
The collaboration between Daniil Medvedev and Gilles Cervara reached its peak so far last Sunday in New York City by winning the US Open. The win against Novak Djokovic ended a Grand Slam year that began with participation in the finals in Melbourne. There, however, Cervara said goodbye to his protégé during a match. Out of anger at Medvedev's behavior.
Right now, of course, the joy of the new milestone in the career of number two in the world reigns supreme. In an interview with tennismajors.com , coach Cervara described the path that led to the triumph at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After the end of the Olympic Games against Pablo Carreno Busta, he wanted to improve a few things, said Cervara, and that was successful up to the US Open. What he won't shake is Medvedev's extremely defensive return position.
Medvedev with special serve tactics
“When I started with him, I thought to myself: 'It's impossible to win from so far back, you open too many angles,'” said Cervara. “I was trying to get him to return closer to the line. But he refused. Daniil has noticed that it doesn't work for him if he is further ahead. ”He was then intelligent enough to accept that. Also because he noticed that the position was beneficial to Medvedev due to the size, the eye and the play area.
Incidentally, the fact that the first two match points in the final against Djokovic went through double faults was already factored into the tactics. Medvedev served the second serve almost as quickly as the first. “It was a tactical option that we explained before the match. He started doing this early in the match, with an ace on second serve. Even I didn't expect it to start this early. We were very flexible to use different strategies for the complexity of Novak Djokovic. "
Up until this year, the relationship between Daniil Medvedev and the Red Ashes had turned out to be particularly complicated. In Roland Garros he was able to win a match for the first time, made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas. That has not yet convinced Gilles Cervara. When asked which majors Daniil Medvedev could win in 2022, the coach said only curtly: “Roland Garros, no. Wimbledon, yes. "