Last Updated on May 22, 2023
The innovative strategist behind the number two player in the world since May 22, 2023, Daniil Medvedev, is celebrated in his homeland, yet his global recognition in the open era is often underestimated. The Russian athlete has demonstrated remarkable perseverance, shattering numerous records on his path to the tennis world’s summit.
Daniil was born on February 11, 1996, in Moscow, Russia. The spark for tennis was ignited when his mother decided to enroll him in a tennis class she stumbled upon while intending to enroll him in swimming. Daniil had already developed a curiosity for tennis after watching Russian tennis maestro Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
Nurturing this newfound passion, Daniil embarked on his tennis career and debuted at his first junior tournament in 2009 at the age of 13. His hard work bore fruit in 2013 when he secured six junior titles, including a streak of four consecutive victories. This allowed him to make his first Grand Slam debut at the 2013 Junior Wimbledon, followed by an appearance at the 2013 Junior US Open.
While Medvedev’s junior career was respectable, his ascension as a professional player was extraordinary. After turning pro in 2014, he made his professional tennis debut at the Kremlin Cup in 2015. Although he and his doubles partner Aslan Karatsev were eliminated in the second round, Medvedev’s potential was undeniable.
His breakthrough came in 2017 when he secured his first ATP final at the Chennai Open. Despite losing to Roberto Agut Bautista, Medvedev had established his presence. That year, he also scored his first Grand Slam win at the Wimbledon Championships but was disqualified for inappropriate comments.
Medvedev’s career catapulted to greater heights in the ensuing five years, winning at least one title annually. As of now, he boasts an impressive 20 Singles career titles, a testament to his versatile game. Medvedev has consistently challenged the top tiers of men’s tennis, with his ranking peaking at number two in the ATP rankings as of May 22, 2023.
A highlight in Medvedev’s career is his performance at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in 2023, where he won his first clay-court trophy, along with his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown. Despite having never won a match in Rome in three previous attempts, he brought his best game, defeating 20-year-old Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5, 2017 champion Alexander Zverev, and 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With this triumph, Medvedev became the sixth player to win at least six different ATP Masters 1000 events, joining the ranks of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal. Importantly, Medvedev’s victory in Rome propelled him to second place in the ATP rankings, significantly leading the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. After surpassing Carlos Alcaraz in the Live Race upon reaching the Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarter-finals, Medvedev now leads the 20-year-old Spaniard by 845 points and is 1,555 points ahead of third-placed Novak Djokovic.
Who Is The Current Coach Of Daniil Medvedev?
Gille Cervara
The current coach of Daniil Medvedev is Gille Cervara. Gilles has been the coach of the world’s number 1 since 2017, leading him to his first ATP Tour final. He has also been his trainer throughout the big moments of his career and was awarded the 2019 ATP Coach of the Year and nominated in 2020 and 2021.
Gille was born in Cannes, France, where he still resides on the 2nd of January 1981 and becomes a professional coach in 2007. Before beginning his coaching career, he worked as a hitting partner to notable tennis players such as Thomas Enqvist, Justine Henin, and Marat Safin.
He seemed to have a good relationship with Russians and was also the coach of Medvedev when the Russian Tennis team recorded outstanding successes during international tournaments in 2021. These tournaments are ATP Cup, Laver Cup, and the Davis Cup.
However, Daniil’s temper has remained a cause of concern in their relationship as he occasionally yells at his coach whenever he gets frustrated during a match. A similar scenario happened recently at the 2022 ATP Halle Tour, and Gille stormed out of the place to the surprise of many fans. After the match, which ended in a defeat for Daniil, he apologized to the coach in the following words,
Daria (his wife), thanks a lot for this week,” Medvedev said during his on-court runner-up speech. “[It is] not easy to be with me on the court sometimes, but hopefully next time will be easier and much better. “Also, thank you guys [the crowd] very much. Sorry for not making this match longer and more interesting!”.
Gilles Cervara, the mastermind behind Daniil Medvedev’s recent tennis success, has been at the helm of coaching this exceptional athlete who holds six ATP Masters 1000 trophies and is ranked second in the world.
In an interview with the ATP tour, Cervara shared insights into his coaching strategy and Medvedev’s playing style. Cervara noted that there wasn’t any specific advice that contributed to Medvedev’s success. Instead, he emphasized understanding and adapting to Medvedev’s personality and needs. He said, “I know Daniil, I know how it works with him. I try to adapt with the situation and what he says is very important.” Cervara uses an approach akin to water, flowing and adapting according to the circumstances, thereby facilitating Medvedev’s transformation of “sh** to gold.”
When asked about the aspects of Medvedev’s game that people might not fully comprehend, Cervara acknowledged that it’s challenging to articulate as he doesn’t face Medvedev as an opponent. However, he pointed out the unpredictability in Medvedev’s shots – their power and direction vary, and there is no consistent depth. These elements, along with Medvedev’s relentless return of every ball, make him a formidable adversary on the court.
Cervara described Medvedev as a wall that sends every ball back, seldom missing. He is always on the move, serving, running, and seemingly finding a solution for any challenge that comes his way. “He’s an amazing fighter. He really wants to win all the time, so he doesn’t give anything to the opponent,” said Cervara. Medvedev’s relentless pursuit of victory and ability to maintain consistent pressure on his opponents—pushing them beyond their comfort zones—combine to make him a daunting player to compete against.
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Previous Coaches Of Daniil Medvedev
There are details about Daniil training under a coach before he started working with Gille. He claimed to have been training and practicing his style of play alone to become a master of the game in one of his comments about how he plays.
Ekaterina Kryuchkova
When he was enrolled in tennis training by his mother in 2005, Ekaterina Kryuchkova was his trainer at the academy. During one of his old interviews with the ATP Tour, Daniil commended his first coach when he acknowledged her effort. He responded to the interviewer, “My first coach was a Russian woman named Ekaterina Kryuchkova, and she was amazing. She made me fight until the last point all the time.”
Ekaterina has worked with some top players and is well-known to have been the coach of Vera Zvonareva. The latter won 24 career titles, including 12 Singles titles and 12 Doubles titles as a professional tennis player.
Other Involvements Of Daniil
Apart from being the world’s number 1, Daniil is typically a smart guy, holds a degree in Physics and Mathematics, and also studied Commerce and Economics for a while at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Afterward, he focused on his tennis career for a while and returned to school to bag his diploma as a coach from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth, and Tourism.
Daniil also loves music and plays guitar during his leisure period. The Russian star is happily married to a Russian model and long-term girlfriend who is believed to have played tennis in the past, Daria Chernyshkova. They married in September 2018, and Daniil has always credited her for his continuous success.
National Achievements
During the dawn of his career, Daniil made it known that he considered switching nationality to Kazakhstan since many Russian tennis players were switching due to a lack of support from the Russian Tennis Federation. However, he did not and represented Russia and Europe in tournaments in 2021.
He won all the tournaments; that is, ATP Cup (Team Russia), Laver Cup (Team Europe), and Davis Cup (Team Russia).
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Daniil Medvedev’s achievements with different coaches
We have collected in the table the data about the trophies won by Daniil Medvedev under the guidance of various coaches.
Coaches | Years of Completion | Titles |
Ekaterina Kryuchkova | 2005 – 2017 | – |
Fernando Vicente | 2017 – till date | 2018 Tokyo (Indoor/Hard) 2018 Winston-Salem (Outdoor/Hard) 2018 Sydney (Outdoor/Hard) 2019 ATP Masters 1000 2019 Shanghai (Outdoor/Hard) 2019 St. Petersburg (Indoor/Hard) ATP Masters 1000 2019 Cincinnati (Outdoor/Hard) 2019 Sofia (Indoor/Hard) 2020 Nitto ATP Finals (Indoor/Hard) ATP Masters 1000 2020 Paris (Indoor/Hard) 2021 US Open (Outdoor/Hard) ATP Masters 1000 2021 Canada (Outdoor/Hard) 2021Mallorca (Outdoor/Grass) 2021 Marseille (Indoor/Hard) 2021 Davis Cup Finals (Indoor/Hard) 2021 ATP Cup (Outdoor/Hard) 2021 Laver Cup 2022 Los Cabos (Outdoor/Hard) 2022 Vienna (Indoor/Hard) 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Rome (Outdoor/Clay) 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (Outdoor/Hard) 2023 Dubai (Outdoor/Hard) 2023 Doha (Outdoor/Hard) 2023 Rotterdam (Indoor/Hard) |