Rafael Nadal sets to upsurge Daniil Medvedev as his game has just…

Mats Wilander believes that Rafael Nadal’s win over Daniil Medvdev at the Australian Open is a hint that the Spaniard has worked out how to play against the Russian.
Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open when he defeated his 26-year-old rival, and the current world No. 1. That ranking is one that Nadal is closing in on ahead of the US Open, which starts on August 31.
Speaking to Eurosport, Wilander explained how many of the top players found it tough to approach Medvedev with his changing approach to the sport.

He said: “I think that players, they were not really sure how to play against Medvedev. Because he’s so awkward to play against. And he’s so unorthodox in the way that he hits the ball, the way that he moves, the way that he swings the racket, where he stands in the court, and the way he serves; the tosses all over the place very far in front… I mean, we’ve never ever seen anything like Medvedev before. And I think that players do not know how to play against him, or at least did not know how to play against him.”

Wilaner continued: “And then he started improving and developing, and he started becoming a little bit more aggressive. So after he beat Novak [Djokovic], he didn’t allow the players to start learning how he played because then he started taking the ball a little bit earlier. And sometimes he would play a longer point and stay further back behind the baseline.

“Sometimes he would serve and volley and then he would stay a little closer to the baseline. But it was still Daniil Medvedev’s way of hitting the tennis ball. And he was just adding mysterious tactical points here and there that we… I mean, and I don’t know if you know, but I always tell him that I love the way he plays, because I thought that he was going that direction. He was going to be more creative, but still rely on his basic game, which is keep the ball in play, stay back, play pretty defensive, but be ready to play offensive.

Rafael Nadal sets to upsurge Daniil Medvedev as his game has just…

“And I think that the development of that style of tennis, I agree with you, was held back, because it didn’t work all the way in Melbourne.”
Wilander, however, suggested that the changes had slowed, allowing rivals to develop tactics against him.

“And I feel after that he hasn’t developed in an aggressive manner, tactically the way that he was developing up to the US Open last year, after the US Open last year, into the Australian Open this year,” he said. “And then suddenly everything stopped. And I think you’re right, I think that he has… Now he’s back playing a little bit the way that he used to, and players will figure him out because it’s not that complicated.

“It’s just weird in the beginning to play against someone that plays that far back, but I think they will figure him out. So it’s really important for him to keep developing a tactical aggression in his game. And I think maybe he stopped doing that a little bit after Melbourne. But then again, we are also again talking about these guys in a way that is normal and the abnormalities are the big three, Roger [Federer], Rafa, Novak, right now, so again, it’s very, very dangerous.
“And so I’m not worried, but I agree that his game has kind of just stumbled a little bit in terms of the development, I’m sure he’ll figure it out.”