Daniil Medvedev continues his criticism of the selection of balls calling them a ‘Physical Disaster’ as he makes the quarter finals in Vienna

Medvedev will make his 14th quarter final appearance of 2023 on Friday.

Daniil Medvedev continues his criticism of the selection of balls calling them a ‘Physical Disaster’ as he makes the quarter finals in Vienna

Daniil Medvedev (Image via : Reuters)

World No.3 Daniil Medvedev put on a gritty display in the round of 16 of the ATP 500 Vienna Open to fend off an inspiring Grigor Dimitrov, as he continued his title defense in the Austrian capital. The Russian defeated Dimitrov 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in 2 hours and 6 minutes to book a quarter-final clash against his good friend and Russian counterpart, Karen Khachanov. This was Medvedev’s first best of 3 match win from a set down since May.

But the Russian didn’t shy away from expressing his discontent with the quality of balls being used on the tour for the second time in as many weeks. While the 1st seed was fine with the balls used in the Vienna Open, he nevertheless raised the issue with Ubitennis before the round of 16 clash.

YouTube video
The rule could be at least not to put slow balls on slow hard courts & perhaps slow balls on fast hard courts. And so on, medium could be medium or fast, something like that. Because sometimes, for example here in Vienna, the balls get bigger. But the court is quite fast, so I don't think it's a big problem. The biggest problem is when it's a slow court & slow balls, it's a disaster physically. I hope a solution can be found.
Medvedev remarked via Ubitennis

The slower balls combined with slow courts lead to longer rallies and, in turn, greater physical toll on the players. Earlier this month, at the China Open, Medvedev complained about the slow conditions giving him clay court feels. 

With these balls, it’s kind of like playing on clay. The only big difference is the bounce, which is not like on clay, so it’s still different, but it’s very slow.
Medvedev told reporters after beating Ugo Humbert

Daniil Medvedev to face Karen Khachanov in his 14th tour-level quarter final appearance of the year

1st seed Daniil Medvedev will face 8th seed Karen Khachanov for the 6th time in his career in the quarterfinal of the Vienna Open on Friday. The World No.3 boasts of an impressive head-to-head record against Khachanov, winning 4 of the 5 previous clashes between the pair.

But, in some positive news for Khachanov, the Vienna Open is an indoor tournament and Medvedev has struggled against him while playing in indoor hard courts. The World No.16 arrives into the clash on the back of strong showings against Roman Safiullin and Jiri Lehecka.

Karen Khachanov
Karen Khachanov (Via Open Source)

Khachanov was enjoying some of the best form of his career before he suffered a stress fracture leading up to the Wimbledon earlier this year. But the Russian made a strong comeback, winning his first tour-level title of the year at ATP 250 Zhuhai Championships.

On the other hand, Medvedev has enjoyed a fairly successful season, winning 5 titles including the Masters title in Miami and Rome. The World No.3 was defeated in the final of the recently concluded US Open by the World No.1 Novak Djokovic. The Russian No.1 has already qualified for the ATP Finals to be played in Turin, Italy.

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