Former world number five says he hates how tennis has changed and claims Daniil Medvedev has benefited from it

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Daniil Medvedev is one of the most successful players of his generation, winning a Grand Slam title and reaching number one in the world.

The Russian star has contested six major finals, winning one at the 2021 US Open, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Shortly after, Medvedev became world number one and held onto the top spot for 16 total weeks.

Winning six Masters 1000 titles and the ATP Finals during his peak years, Medvedev enjoyed success during the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Reflecting on the 29-year-old’s time at the top, former world number five Jimmy Arias has claimed Medvedev benefited from a change in tennis, which he ‘hates’.

Jimmy Arias ‘hates’ the way tennis changed which allowed Daniil Medvedev to dominate on hard courts

Appearing as a guest on ‘Monday Match Analysis’, former American star Arias shared the change he’s noticed in tennis over the years.

“I hate this part of where the game has evolved to. I enjoyed the chess part of it, figuring out the best way to break down your opponent, to get to his weakness. Now the weaknesses might reveal themselves only under pressure,” he said.

“That’s why so many players today tell you they’re only focused on themselves, ‘I’m going to play my game’, I hate that, because I do enjoy the part of trying to make your opponent play badly, that’s a skill, and it’s a skill that isn’t being utilised quite as much.

“There are some examples of players you could’ve done that to, but it wasn’t happening in the last ten years.”

Arias believes players failed to take advantage of a weakness in Medvedev’s game during his best years on tour.

“Daniil Medvedev comes to mind. Medvedev, when he was beating everybody, when he was number one in the world, he had a very specific… He’d serve well, hold serve fairly quickly because he’s six foot seven and gets enough free points,” he said.

“Then on your serve, he’s in the fence, making every return, putting balls in, the pressure of having to win game after game, of having to hit so many quality shots, eventually would cause players to break down towards the end of sets, and he’d end up beating you.

“If you served and volleyed against him, you’re in the fence. You could hit a slow serve wide and get inches from the net.

“If he was playing Stefan Edberg, he would have had time to run on his side, slap him a high five, and come back, because he would have gotten in so tight to the net that all you have to do is touch the volley, get your strings on it. From the position he’s hitting the return, you will win that point almost every time, if you get your strings on the volley.”

Arias became frustrated seeing players ignore such an obvious weakness in Medvedev’s game.

“No player was doing it, and it was absolutely insane, I couldn’t handle it,” he said.

“You’re going to lose playing your game. The numbers tell you you’re going to lose that match on a hard court; he was beating everybody.

“So you’re going to lose playing your game, so why are you playing your game? Do something he doesn’t like!”

The American then named the two players who finally made the adjustment to limit Medvedev’s effectiveness.

“[Nick] Kyrgios did it, Kyrgios was the first guy that started doing it to him, and [Novak] Djokovic did it to him a little bit also, actually,” said Arias.

“But it took way too many years for that to happen. That’s the part of the evolution of tennis that I’m not crazy about.”

According to Arias, Kyrgios and Djokovic were the first players to serve and volley against Medvedev, but what are their head-to-head records like against the former world number one?

Daniil Medvedev’s head-to-head record against Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic

Medvedev and Kyrgios have played five matches on the ATP Tour, with the Aussie losing just once.

Djokovic has enjoyed similar success against Medvedev, leading their head-to-head, 10-5.

Only time will tell if Medvedev can turn the tide in his rivalries with Djokovic and Kyrgios, but it will certainly be worth keeping an eye on.

Medvedev could potentially meet Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final, but will first focus on his third-round match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Monday, October 6.