In an interview with ATP Tour recently, Daniil Medvedev was approached to build his perfect player using attributes from other players or himself. Amongst the multiple choices he made, Medvedev’s reasoning for choosing Roger Federer’s forehand might raise eyebrows. He overlooked Rafael Nadal because of the Spaniard’s left-handed orientation. While the US Open finalist is free to make his choices, his selection criteria will surely invite scrutiny.
Daniil Medvedev capped off his 2023 Grand Slam season with a runner-up finish at the US Open. He is on a well-deserved break after improving upon his 2022 season.
Is Rafael Nadal the odd one out in tennis?
Coming back to the video, Medvedev was first asked to pick the player with the best forehand for his perfect player. He chose Federer’s forehand right off the bat, calling it the best shot in the Swiss legend’s arsenal. Later, when choosing Nadal’s mental toughness, he said he considered going with the Spaniard for the forehand. However, Medvedev strangely opted against it just because Nadal is left-handed while he himself is right-handed.
Nadal’s forehand is famous for its speed and insane top spin. However, Medvedev is not the first to challenge the 22-time Grand Slam winner’s forehand as not being the best. Nadal’s top spin forehand averaged a spin of 55 revolutions per second, much higher than Federer’s 47 (as per FiveThirtyEight). His unique forehand style has found an admirer in the son of one of his biggest rivals, Novak Djokovic. The Serb’s son Stefan reportedly imitates Nadal’s forehand swing when playing with his father, which he does not approve of. Djokovic admitted to trying to get his son to stop doing that and learn a more conventional forehand like him.
Medvedev’s choice, Federer too has talked about Nadal’s forehand. When the duo first crossed paths in 2004, the Swiss predicted Nadal to become the most powerful southpaw in tennis (according to Bleacher Report). His prediction held up incredibly well, coming back to bite him multiple times. The Spaniard’s left-handed topspin-heavy forehand coming in at an angle to Federer’s single-handed backhand proved to be one of the biggest hurdles the latter faced in his career. The Basel-born icon was caught jokingly saying he was sick and tired of Nadal’s forehand during an exhibition match in 2021. No other left-hander has managed to captivate the tennis fraternity with their forehands.
Daniil Medvedev builds his perfect player
Medvedev did not pick Nadal’s forehand, but the Russian chose his mental strength and competitiveness. His choice of picking Nadal’s competitiveness and mental strength perhaps comes from experience. He has lost two Grand Slam finals to the Big 3 legend. The Russian was defeated by Nadal in the 2019 US Open and 2022 Australian Open, both going into five sets. His other two Grand Slam finals losses have come against Djokovic, which explains why he picked the Serb’s competitiveness as well.
The World No.3 also picked Djokovic for his return and flexibility. Apart from Federer’s forehand, he picked the 20-time Majors winner’s slice and net game. Medvedev chose himself for his speed and celebration. He made a couple of surprising choices, taking Dominic Thiem’s backhand and Corentin Moutet’s touch. For the best serve, his choice was Nick Kyrgios.
