Daniil Medvedev has praised Jannik Sinner’s movement on grass courts after both players won their opening matches at Wimbledon.
Medvedev stormed to a straight-set victory over Marin Cilic in round one of the Grand Slam, winning their match 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
But it was certainly not as straightforward for ATP number one Sinner, who needed five sets to beat Miomir Kecmanovic.
The defending champion at Wimbledon, he was under immense pressure at times on Centre Court, but eventually won 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6-8), 6-2, 6-3.
Despite his nervy win, the Italian has received praise from his ATP rival Medvedev after both progressed into round two.
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Daniil Medvedev praises Jannik Sinner’s movement on grass courts
Medvedev was asked after his win how he thinks his game has evolved on grass over the years, specifically his movement.
The Russian was also asked if there is room for improvement in certain areas, to which he said: “There is always room to improve.
“Movement in tennis, forehand, backhand, serve, there is always room to improve. It’s what I try to do every year. Sometimes I do; sometimes not.
“In terms of movement, not easy on grass. I feel like I’m actually not the best mover on grass.
“I mean, when you see Jannik, Jannik definitely is the best because he somehow manages to slide. And when he slides, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to break something. We never know.
“But in general, if I would slide on grass, I could maybe do it a couple of times but I would get injured for sure.
“And we did see some players get injured, so I think it’s not ideal. But I tried to do my best. I tried to work hard with my physical coach to adapt my movement, my game.
“Today, for example, I was moving pretty well. I think it brought me the edge today, as well. Happy about it.”
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2019 | US Open | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2021 | Australian Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 5–7, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2021 | US Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2022 | Australian Open | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 6–2, 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 2023 | US Open | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 3–6, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
| Loss | 2024 | Australian Open | Hard | Jannik Sinner | 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
Daniil Medvedev says holding serve is ‘crucial’ on grass
Medvedev was tasked with further discussing the surface at Wimbledon, which concludes the grass-court swing on the ATP calendar.
When asked if he thinks tennis is more tactical on grass compared to clay and hard courts, he said: “It depends.
“In my opinion, tactic is everywhere: Clay, grass, hard. It’s a different tactic, of course, but it’s everywhere.
“But the only thing I would say that maybe is a bit different on grass to other surfaces, where serve is important on all the surfaces, but probably on grass even more.
“It’s like really crucial to hold your serve. Whenever you lose it, you might lose a set. I would say the biggest difference on grass is that you can play a good match and lose.
“I mean, it can be the case everywhere, but I feel like on other surfaces if you’re really better than your opponent in many components, you’ll have a much better chance to win, whereas on grass, he can be worse on everything but if he serves well and gets to the tiebreak, he can beat you.
“I think that’s the biggest difference on grass.”
The eighth seed at Wimbledon this year, Medvedev now turns his attention to Daniel Merida Aguilar in round two, while top seed Sinner plays Nuno Borges.
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