Medvedev: "10 Years Ago, Players My Size Didn’t Know How to Play Long Rallies"

Present at the Madrid Masters 1000, where he will face Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16 this Tuesday, Daniil Medvedev discussed the changes in tennis, particularly the movement quality of tall players.

"I think one of the major evolutions in men’s tennis over the last 25 years is the chasing of the ball.

Have you seen Reilly Opelka? He may not run as well as me or Carlos, but he still defends very well.

He can run, play long rallies. And 10 years ago, players my size didn’t know how to play long rallies at all. They only played serve-and-volley.

So I think the game is evolving. It’s the same in football.

You watch a match from the 80s, with lots of beautiful goals, but defensively, you notice they don’t move much.

And now, everyone is running all over the place for the full 90 minutes of the match. The intensity has increased significantly. And it’s the same in all sports.

So yes, there are already a lot of players who know how to defend and attack well from different positions.

Physicality is now much more important in the game, and it seems to me that’s why the playing field is more level now."