Nitto ATP Finals, London

[Andy22]

But surely it is, after all it's your mighty goal Nadal he beat. Funny as hell reading this when you talk garbage about players beating much older Federer, especially Djokovic. Seems Nadal must have aged a ton in your eyes since he won RG just a few weeks ago lol.

you don't how much better Nadal and Djokovic movement was in their 20s, if they played this version of themselves they would both lose in straight sets, Also Nadal always been not the best indoors anyway.

 

[Jelenafan]

Can't disagree with anything there and good synopsis of his play style. Nah, not looking for just another Nadal threat as he's clearly able to beat them all and just like the way he plays. Very unorthodox. Surprises his opponents often.

Great description: unorthodox.
One of the things that annoys me is when people start talking about how player X is more naturally talented than player Y. Other than volleying, where textbook technique doesn’t vary much, there is so much variety in how to hit your groundies and Medvedev is the perfect example.

His slap forehand, serve and BH are not “classic” shots yet they work damn well. So much of tennis talent is eye to hand coordination and that can cover a variety of styles, plus Medvedev covers the court exceptionally well for someone 6-6”,
the best tall mover IMO since Marat. So He’s not less talented than those with classic technique, simply that Medvedev displays his talent in an idiosyncratic style.

 

[Moxie]

Great description: unorthodox.
One of the things that annoys me is when people start talking about how player X is more naturally talented than player Y. Other than volleying, where textbook technique doesn’t vary much, there is so much variety in how to hit your groundies and Medvedev is the perfect example.

His slap forehand, serve and BH are not “classic” shots yet they work damn well. So much of tennis talent is eye to hand coordination and that can cover a variety of styles, plus Medvedev covers the court exceptionally well for someone 6-6”,
the best tall mover IMO since Marat. So He’s not less talented than those with classic technique, simply that Medvedev displays his talent in an idiosyncratic style.

Really good analysis. Also following onto a conversation with @Front242, who was looking for Medvedev to make up ground on clay this year, (back when we thought it would be a normal year.) I looked him up and he has miserable results on clay. So here's my question: if he's a good mover for a big guy, if he's willing to go toe-to-toe on the baseline, why does he have such poor results on clay, and can he/will he make the adjustments? His best results tend to be on faster courts, so I guess losing time on slow clay somehow negates his big shots? Being a top 4 player now, I'm sure he's going to be hoping to make more inroads on clay. Curious as to opinions.

 

[Front242]

you don't how much better Nadal and Djokovic movement was in their 20s, if they played this version of themselves they would both lose in straight sets, Also Nadal always been not the best indoors anyway.

I've been watching them both for years so I dunno how you decide I don't know how much better they were in their 20s. Anyway, you just put the whole thing to rest with the bolded part above.

 

[Front242]

Really good analysis. Also following onto a conversation with @Front242, who was looking for Medvedev to make up ground on clay this year, (back when we thought it would be a normal year.) I looked him up and he has miserable results on clay. So here's my question: if he's a good mover for a big guy, if he's willing to go toe-to-toe on the baseline, why does he have such poor results on clay, and can he/will he make the adjustments? His best results tend to be on faster courts, so I guess losing time on slow clay somehow negates his big shots? Being a top 4 player now, I'm sure he's going to be hoping to make more inroads on clay. Curious as to opinions.

He beat Djokovic at Monte Carlo 2019 and had decent results that year apart from RG where he's been shocking losing in the first round every year. Easier just to copy/paste from Wiki but his results were decent besides the obviously way more important RG so plenty of improving to do. Still, here's a paragraph showing his good results on clay in 2019.

Medvedev entered the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters having only won two of his first 13 career matches on clay courts. Despite this, Medvedev reached his first ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the tournament after defeating world number 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.[20] In the quarterfinals, Medvedev earned his first triumph over a world number 1 ranked player, when he defeated Djokovic in three sets.[21] His run ended in the semifinals against Dušan Lajović in straight sets.[22] The following week at the Barcelona Open, Medvedev earned his third successive top 10 victory (this time over Nishikori) to reach his first ATP Tour final on clay.[23] In the final, Medvedev was defeated by world number 5 Dominic Thiem in straight sets.[24]

 

[Moxie]

He beat Djokovic at Monte Carlo 2019 and had decent results that year apart from RG where he's been shocking losing in the first round every year. Easier just to copy/paste from Wiki but his results were decent besides the obviously way more important RG so plenty of improving to do. Still, here's a paragraph showing his good results on clay in 2019.

Medvedev entered the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters having only won two of his first 13 career matches on clay courts. Despite this, Medvedev reached his first ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the tournament after defeating world number 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.[20] In the quarterfinals, Medvedev earned his first triumph over a world number 1 ranked player, when he defeated Djokovic in three sets.[21] His run ended in the semifinals against Dušan Lajović in straight sets.[22] The following week at the Barcelona Open, Medvedev earned his third successive top 10 victory (this time over Nishikori) to reach his first ATP Tour final on clay.[23] In the final, Medvedev was defeated by world number 5 Dominic Thiem in straight sets.[24]

I'd actually forgotten that he'd had some not just good but very interesting results in MC and Barcelona last year. He has failed to post at all at RG. It will be interesting to see how he does in the next proper clay season. While his best win pct. is on indoor HC, he has a game that should transfer to clay.