Currently situated at a career ranking high of 63rd on the Emirates rankings, Daniil Medvedev knows that there is still a long way to go.
The 20-year-old Russian is one of the youngest players ranked in the world’s top 100 (sixth youngest to be precise). At the start of the year, he was able to demonstrate his potential by reaching his first ATP final at the Chennai Open, where he lost in straight sets to the more experienced Roberto Bautista Agut. Medvedev’s milestone followed an encouraging 2016 season where he won his first title on the Challenger tour.
Within the past 12 months, the Moscow-born player has risen over 250 places in the rankings to elevate him into the highly promoted ‘Next Generation’ league. Last year the ATP launched the concept to help promote and develop the rising stars on the men’s tour. He is also currently first in the race to the inaugural Next Generation Finals in Italy, which will feature the eight best players aged under 21 playing in a round-robin tournament.
“It’s still a long way to get there because there are a lot of good young players who are playing well,” Medvedev told atpworldtour.com about the Milan tournament.
“If you qualify for Milan, you will probably have to be ranked in the Top 100 or maybe even the Top 80, so it means you’ve had a great year. There are a lot of us who will have chances to make it to there.”
Despite the promising signs shown by Medvedev, success at the top is not guaranteed. His first experience of playing in the Davis Cup was a brutal reminder of this. Facing a somewhat lacklustre Novak Djokovic, the Russian was forced to retire in the fourth set due to severe cramping.
“I have not played many games in five sets and the nerves of playing against Novak took a toll on me and generated very strong cramps,” he said during an interview with Punto de Break.
The recent blow has done little to crush Medvedev’s desire to succeed as he bids to increase his physical condition in order to play alongside the best in the world.
“I have to improve my backhand a lot and try to be more aggressive, but the most important thing is to continue working hard to improve my physical condition, which will allow me to compete against the best throughout the year.” The 20-year-old said.
Medvedev is currently playing at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. He will play eighth seed Fernando Verdasco in the second round on Thursday.
