Daniil Medvedev
PROS: Imagine a 6'6" version of 5'11" Lleyton Hewitt, the speedy, tenacious Australian counterpuncher who captured two majors 20 years ago. Add a big serve and smarter tactics, such as returning serve from 10 feet behind the baseline, and you have Medvedev, the US Open champion and world No. 2.
“Medvedev has a machine-like reliability on hardcourts,” says Mayer. That was never more apparent than at Flushing Meadows where the 25-year-old Russian mowed down the field, thwarting Djokovic’s Grand Slam bid 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final to capture his first major title.
How Medvedev fares in his head-to-head rivalry with Zverev, now 5-5, will determine, in part, how he fares in 2022. Based on his 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Zverev in the Paris Open semifinals, his fourth straight win over the German, he should do just fine.
Courier summed up the deceptively effective Medvedev best. “He doesn’t look particularly athletic, and he isn’t graceful. But here he is, No. 2 in the world.”
CONS: His last name is translated to “Bear” in Russian, but he’s been anything but bearish in five-set matches, as his 2-7 career record shows. His only fiveset wins have come this year over No. 33 Filip Krajinovic at the Australian Open and No. 37 Marin Cilic at Wimbledon. The latter victory apparently exhausted Medvedev because he lost a five-setter to No. 1■ Hurkacz in the next round.
A one-trick pony on hard courts where he’s won 12 of his 13 career titles, Medvedev has stumbled on clay, with only a 4-5 record at Paris, and on grass, just ■-4 at Wimbledon, where he’s never reached the quarterfinals. Also, his somewhat unsound volley can let him down, especially on big points.