Daniil Medvedev believes he has made some significant changes since changing his coaches after the US Open.
Medvedev split from Gilles Cervara after losing in the first round of the US Open last year, bringing an end to their eight-year partnership.
After parting ways with Cervara, Medvedev joined forces with Thomas Johansson, the former Australian Open champion, with Rohan Goetzke also working on his team.
This switch has already been rewarded, with Medvedev winning three ATP titles since adding Johansson and Goetzke to his team, and he has now explained how he thinks his game has improved under their guidance.
Daniil Medvedev believes his serve has improved with his new coaching team
Medvedev won the Dubai Tennis Championships for the second time in his career last week, and after his victory he spoke to Russian outlet Tennis Bolshoi.
In this interview, Medvedev was asked about the recent improvements he has made, with the former world number one particularly highlighting his serve as a shot he thinks has got particularly better.
“Everything is relative, because yes if you take the last 12 months before the titles, it was pretty modest,” said Medvedev about his form before winning three titles in the last five months. “But if you take the whole 29, there was a Slam final, an Indian Wells final, Miami semifinal, which basically can be compared to the titles I’ve just won, maybe even better in some ways.
“Because again, would I have preferred to reach a final at the Australian Open this year, or to have the two titles I have won [in 2026]? I’d have to think hard about that. But that’s not how tennis works, so we try to do our maximum.
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“With the new team everything is working well. We’re also working on certain things. For example, I feel like my serve has gotten better and the serve is still probably the most important shot in tennis, it gives you that extra confidence.
“So winning titles feels good, I’ve always loved winning titles. Let’s say, I’m used to it. So what happened before that, not winning titles for a long time, was unusual. I hope I can keep winning more, both bigger ones and 500s, 250s, basically all of them.”
Daniil Medvedev’s serving statistics with his old coach vs new coach
The best way to see if Medvedev’s serve has really improved is to compare the statistics from his most recent match under Johansson, compared to his last under Cervara.
Medvedev’s last match with Cervara was a five set defeat to Benjamin Bonzi at the US Open, while his most recent match came in the semifinals in Dubai against Felix Auger-Aliassime, as the final did not take place following Tallon Griekspoor’s withdrawal.
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The most notable improvements on Medvedev’s serve when comparing these two matches are in his first and second serve win percentage.
This is particularly highlighted on his second serve, which Medvedev won 34% more of his points on in his most recent match compared to his last with Cervara.
Medvedev has a lower ace total with Johansson, but his double fault numbers have improved, and he was not broken once against Auger-Aliassime.
| Daniil Medvedev’s Serve | Last match with Gilles Cervara | Most recent match with Thomas Johannsson |
| Aces | 21 (Average of 4.2 per set) | 7 (Average of 3.5 per set) |
| Double Faults | 10 (Average of 2 per set) | 2 (Average of 1 per set) |
| First Serve % | 60% | 60% |
| First Serve Win % | 75% | 88% |
| Second Serve Win % | 42% | 76% |
| Games Broken | 6 (Average of 1.2 per set) | 0 |
This supports Medvedev’s point about his serve improving, which has subsequently enabled him to start lifting trophies again after a 29-month drought.
Medvedev will hope that his serve is firing at his next tournament of Indian Wells, which gets underway on Wednesday, March 4.
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