From a raised middle finger to a new philosophy. Medvedev is better than I ever was, says former US Open champion

Daniil Medvedev has long been a part of tennis’ top tier. Yet he is still a bit in the shadow of the more prominent players. But he continues to work on himself and the results are visible. He has calmed down and earned words of praise from Andy Roddick. What do the two tennis players have in common?

The middle man in Paris

For the sixth year, he is part of the ATP’s elite ten rankings. Daniil Medvedev has a Grand Slam title and has also tried his hand at being world number one. Still, he is not usually among the most watched players.

Sometimes he is of interest because of events that are completely unrelated to tennis. Last year he stirred up the waters on the ATP circuit at the Paris tournament.

He made his attitude towards some local tennis fans there clear after the match. When leaving the court, he gave them a raised middle finger under the pretext of checking his fingernails .

But the 27-year-old tennis player would like to devote more time to his experience of tennis and give it more thought beyond the time spent directly on the tennis courts. He entered this year with plans for change.

Medvedev 2024

The Frenchman Cervary’s charge entered this year’s inaugural Grand Slam with the aim of reflecting more on his game. And especially in his spare time. He planned to cut back on silly things like Playstations and mobile phones.

And although the Australian Open brought him some challenging moments, he succeeded. Medvedev overcame long five-set battles and match ends in the early hours and was essentially a few balls away from his maiden title in Melbourne.

Italy’s Sinner turned the match around against him and Medvedev finished second. Again. This is the fifth time he’s finished runner-up in a major.

But he certainly doesn’t deserve to be criticized or underestimated. Words of praise for the Russian tennis player were found by former US Open champion Andy Roddick.

Roddick on Medvedev

Roddick actually has very similar results to the Moscow native. In his final matches at Grand Slams he won once, otherwise he went away defeated. In particular, he always regretted not being able to conquer Wimbledon.

But he warns against underestimating Medvedev. According to the American, he is playing better than he has ever played. The Russian is certainly not a player who once miraculously surprised, and if anyone claims that, Roddick says he is an idiot.

Neither losing a 2:0 set lead in the Australian Major final nor Medvedev’s record in the final matches of Grand Slams are reasons to overlook or criticize “Meddy”.

Roddick, on the other hand, praises everything the Russian has achieved in recent years. He is, in his opinion, a very underrated player.

In conclusion ..

When Medvedev lost in the final of the Australian Open three years ago, he triumphed later at the Major in New York. Let’s get used to the fact that Djokovic is not the only player who is an obstacle for the upcoming generation led by Alcaraz and Sinner.

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