Medvedev coach Gilles Cervara: "He's getting closer and closer to a Grand Slam title"
Daniil Medvedev reached the second Grand Slam final of his career at this year's Australian Open. But that's not the only reason why his coach Gilles Cervara soon believes in his first title in a major tournament.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 04, 2021, 09:53 pm
Tournament victory in Paris-Bercy, triumph at the ATP Finals, title at the ATP Cup with the Russian team. Daniil Medvedev's record in the past few months does not read too badly. Well, the 20-game winning streak came to an abrupt end in the final of the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic and the Russian also failed early at the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam, but Medvedev has undoubtedly established himself in the absolute world class recently.
Of course, trainer Gilles Cervara, who has been in charge of the world number three since 2017, is also responsible for this. As the Frenchman had already emphasized in the past, the main goal since the beginning of the collaboration was to bring Medvedev mentally to a better level. With a view to the development of the Russian, this apparently worked quite well, but especially in the Australian Open final against Djokovic, Cervara would have expected a mentally cleared performance from the 25-year-old.
"Invisible" mistakes in the Australian Open final
"What did Daniil do wrong? It is difficult to understand these mistakes because in this case it is something invisible. We are talking about the right level of energy, soul and fire that he could have in himself on these occasions. Unfortunately, were all of these things in the final are not of a high standard, " Cervara told betway.it . In addition, Djokovic had a sensational performance.
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Overall, however, the tournament was a good one, said the 40-year-old: "In fact, this is proof that Daniil has made a step forward. He finished last year on a great level and came in brilliantly in 2021. He is getting better and better and is getting closer and closer to a Grand Slam title. "
Medvedev could overtake Nadal in Marseille
In order to achieve this goal, the net game, the mental aspect and certain details in the match preparation would have to improve. "Otherwise we are talking about a tennis player who is very solid in all facets of the game," said Cervara, who trusts Medvedev to take further steps in the world rankings.
"Getting into the top three is not a dream. It will be possible to maintain or improve this position if Daniil continues to work with the right mental approach and shows maturity day after day, game after game," said Cervara. Medvedev will get the next chance to do so in the coming week at the ATP 250 tournament in Marseille. With a tournament victory in the south of France, the Russian would overtake Rafael Nadal and climb to second place in the world rankings.