Daniil Medvedev, the face of tennis’s next generation of players

Standing at 6ft 6in,  Daniil Medvedev is high in confidence and is not only developing into one of tennis’s best players and premier athletes, but also among the smartest, reported AFP. The Russian faces the current men’s world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the upcoming Australian Open final on Sunday. With the sheer amount of skills Medvedev possesses, he is slowly emerging as the face of the next wave looking to smash the ‘Big Three’ monopoly of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Following his loss to Nadal in the 2019 US Open final, Medvedev has worked hard on his game and fitness to race through the rankings and goes into Sunday’s Australian Open final against Djokovic on a 20-match win streak, demonstrating his mental and physical stamina.

Prior to his rise in 2019, he never  shied away from admitting he did not do everything as professionally as possible. Although he competed hard and did his work on the practice court,  his diet and recovery routines were not what they should be, with the 25-year-old enjoying sweets and croissants. He would even skip ice baths if a long match went late. Last year he said, “I thought it was going to be the best rest, to just lay on the bed and watch some TV. And in fact, it’s not.”

In his 20-match run, he has beaten every top-10 player except Federer, who has been out injured. Hearing this, he said, “It’s great to know this. It’s a pity that Roger is not playing.”

Medvedev’s intelligence goes beyond the court as he excelled in physics and math at school, graduating early and enrolling at a university in his native Moscow to study applied economics and commerce. However, he opted instead to play tennis full-time and moved to France for better coaching facilities.