Amid Poor Run of Form, Daniil Medvedev’s Ex-coach Gilles Cervara Admits Things Went Downhill After Australian Open
Daniil Medvedev crashed out of every Grand Slam tournament without reaching the third round this year.
Follow Us
Daniil Medvedev, Gilles Cervara (Image via X/Mirror US Sports, Brett)
🔍 Explore this post with:
Things at present are not at all working for Daniil Medvedev. The Russian ace, who used to be a dangerous player on the tour, has been dealing with a massive slump in form, and defeats in the early rounds of tournaments to unseeded players have become a common sight this season.
After making headlines all over the world during his five-set defeat to Benjamin Bonzi in the first round of the US Open, Medvedev parted ways with coach Gilles Cervara after working together for eight years. Cervara, during an interview with Tennis Majors, revealed he agreed with his former protege when he thought a change could help him.
Results are just the visible part of a broader reality: his personal life, family, daily work, goals, team. In the visible realm, things started going wrong after Melbourne, and we never got back to the path of victory. But looking back, perhaps it was already too late. All attempts to turn the situation around failed because the root causes were already embedded.
Under Cervara, Medvedev clinched 20 titles, including his lone Grand Slam win at the 2021 US Open, where he stopped 24-time Major champion Novak Djokovic from completing the Calendar Grand Slam. Medvedev also reached No.1 in the rankings under Cervara.
In fact, after Gilles Simon left the team after the Australian Open, we tried to rebuild and start from scratch. In terms of tennis, everything progressed very slowly. I’m not saying he’s playing very well now, but he has resources.
Gilles Cervara added
At the US Open, Medvedev suffered a meltdown as he argued with the umpire over the first serve after a photographer’s interruption when Bonzi was serving for the match. After his argument with the umpire, Medvedev also asked the crowd to boo him, which they did for six minutes.
After a customary handshake, Medvedev slammed his racket and destroyed it. Due to this drama, he was slapped with a $42,500 fine by the United States Tennis Association, which means Medvedev lost 40% of his first-round prize money.
Gilles Cervara believes in Daniil Medvedev’s resurgence
Daniil Medvedev has played 39 finals and taken home 20 titles. Apart from the 2021 US Open, Medvedev also has reached five more Grand Slam finals, losing them to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Jannik Sinner.
This season, his Grand Slam campaign ended without him progressing beyond the second round. He reached one final this season- at the Halle Open, where Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik beat him in straight sets. Gilles Cervara is convinced that a player of Medvedev’s caliber will eventually find his form and get back to where he once was. During the same interview with Tennis Majors, Cervara added:
I firmly believe he still has what it takes, that he can soon shine again and achieve victory. That spark has been seen at some moments this year. But he couldn’t close out some matches, for various reasons. It’s almost certain that he will put things back in place.
Medvedev last clinched a title at the 2023 Italian Open – also his first clay-court title. Since that win, he has lost all seven finals he played. Due to his consistent poor performances, he dropped out of the top 10, currently occupying the 13th spot. He started the season as a No.5 player.
Medvedev is expected to start his campaign on the Asian swing at the China Open, which is scheduled to start on September 24. Last year on the Asian swing, Medvedev played two tournaments and made deep runs. In Beijing, he lost to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, while at the Shanghai Masters, he fell in the quarterfinals against eventual winner Sinner.
/techfirstnow/media/agency_attachments/kATjCXskQdJKkXN0OuqW.png)