Andrea Petkovic thinks she has worked out the secret problem Daniil Medvedev is having which is really hurting his tennis

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Daniil Medvedev struggled at times during the 2024 season, as he failed to win a tour level title for the first time in seven years.

Things started brilliantly for the Russian this year, as Medvedev reached the Australian Open final in January, before losing to Jannik Sinner having led by two sets to love.

Medvedev then lost in the Indian Wells final, his second big defeat to a young star this year, as he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

His form then dipped, before Medvedev qualified for the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second year running, extracting revenge on Sinner in the quarter-finals.

The Russian suffered early exits in Cincinnati, Canada, and Paris, whilst only reaching the last eight at the US Open.

Medvedev then lost in the ATP Finals group stage, winning just one of three matches as he crashed out of the competition, bringing an underwhelming season to a close.

One former WTA star has now revealed what she thinks could be behind Medvedev’s dip in performance this year.

Andrea Petkovic thinks Daniil Medvedev has been hiding a ‘secret’ injury in 2024

Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, former world number seven Andrea Petkovic revealed what she thinks Medvedev has been struggling with this year.

“I think with him the problem is that his tennis is so demanding physically and he used to get a lot of free points on his serve but he doesn’t any longer,” she said.

“The reason for that I think is that he doesn’t want to say but he’s struggling with his back or his shoulder.”

Petkovic thinks she noticed something in a press conference earlier this year that led her to believe the Russian has been playing through an injury.

“The reason I say that is because at the French Open I was sitting in on a press conference and he’s so secretive with this, which I appreciate,” she said.

“Someone hit him with a stat and said you used to win this many free points on your serve and it’s dropped to this and he said I know that, I am very aware of this number and I am trying to work on it, unfortunately something stopped me from practicing it as much as I used to.

“I don’t think he has said anything ever again after that, I think that was almost a slip.”

The German went on to explain why a potential ‘secret injury’ could be hurting the world number five.

“That makes me think he has some sort of physical issue which he doesn’t want to talk about which is preventing him from serving his best,” said Petkovic.

“I think when you play such a physically demanding game you are in need of some free points on your serve.”

Has Daniil Medvedev’s serve gotten worse in 2024?

Petkovic seems to think that the Russian has picked up far fewer ‘free points’ on his serve in 2024 compared to years gone by, but is that really the truth?

Big servers like Medvedev often ace their way through service games, conserving energy for the rest of the match.

The stats do seem to suggest that Medvedev has experienced his worst year on tour, in terms of aces per match for over five years.

Medvedev served just 6.9 aces per match in 2024, down 2.4 from his career-high years in 2020, and 2021.

His ranking compared to the rest of the ATP Tour also fell dramatically, as he currently sits just inside the top 40, having peaked in the top ten for aces per match back in 2020.

It remains to be seen if Medvedev’s serve can return to his best in the new year, but he’ll certainly be hoping to get off on the right foot at the Australian Open which begins on January 12.