2021 champ Daniil Medvedev plays one of the best matches of his career to beat the defending champ Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 and reach a 3rd #USOpen final in 5 years. WHAT A PERFORMANCE!
Daniil Medvedev Constructs the Ultimate Player, Drawing Inspiration from Eight Different Players
ATPMonday, 18 September 2023 at 10:30
Daniil Medvedev has constructed the ultimate tennis player by drawing inspiration from eight different stars of the ATP Tour.
In a recent interview with ATPTour.com, the World No. 3 planned the fantasy athlete to the finest detail, including a mix of players based on the categories of serve, forehand, backhand, net play, touch, mental resilience, and return game, as well as considering how the ultimate player would celebrate winning a match.
For the forehand, Medvedev said he would choose Roger Federer, saying that it was the Swiss tennis legend's 'best shot.'
"Forehand? I'll go with Roger Federer. Just because his forehand is so good I think that was his best shot and also the way he sets up with slice for his forehand as soon as you go to his forehand, you are in trouble," he said.
Djokovic, Thiem, and Kyrgios among other picks
For the backhand, the 27-year-old revealed that he would choose the 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
"I would go with Thiem [ for backhand], just because I love when he smashes his backhand down the line or cross court. I think he does it really great," he continued.
For the return, Medvedev chose World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, while he was torn between two names for the slice.
"Return has to be Novak because just the way he returns throughout his career is unreal. The slice I would say two choices. First, Steve Johnson just because throughout his career I don't feel like he played lot of spin backhands and his slice in my opinion is really good. And Roger [Federer] just because his slice is unbelievable," he said.
For net play, Medvedev chose to combine Federer and Nick Kyrgios.
"I will go with two people, Kyrgios and Federer. When they go to the net, its so tough to do anything against them," he explained.
The Russian then selected Rafael Nadal for mental toughness, before choosing the Spaniard again alongside Djokovic for competitiveness.
He also chose Corentin Moutet for touch before choosing himself for speed despite saying that Carlos Alcaraz was the fastest player he'd ever seen.
"Touch, Corentin Moutet, just because his touch is really good. And I'll stay with myself [speed]. Carlos is unbelievably fast, maybe the fastest I have seen. Carlos is pure speed, but I love the way I run, so I’ll go with myself," he said. Medvedev also chose himself for match celebration.
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