Daniil Medvedev has continued his very strong start to the season by reaching the third round of the Australian Open.
Medvedev won the Brisbane International just ahead of the Grand Slam for his 22nd ATP title from 22 different countries.
He is now looking to add Melbourne to that list, having reached the Australian Open final three times without winning.
Medvedev fell in the second round this time last year, followed by first round exits at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
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Martina Navratilova impressed by ‘relaxed’ Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open
Medvedev split with his coach Gilles Cervara after that disappointment in New York, with Thomas Johansson joining his team.
Sharing her take on the Russian after his second round win in Melbourne, tennis legend Martina Navratilova said on Tennis Channel: “I think he looks better now than he has in a couple of years.
“He looks really relaxed. I think that new coaching, just slightly different philosophy maybe. And also, the players are on their best behavior with the new coach, so you don’t see him mouthing off at the coach.
“So I think it’s been a great move for him, and he looks relaxed. He’s not yapping at the crowd, he’s all business, but relaxed at the same time.”
Lindsay Davenport praises hard-court specialist Daniil Medvedev
Also sharing her verdict on Medvedev was Navratilova’s fellow legend Davenport, who believes the Russian has been a leading hard-court player for several years now.
She said: “I think all players kind of go through that lull at some point in their career. How do they get themselves out of it?
“A great job by Medvedev and his team to kind of work through it. He tried to make the relationship with Gilles Cervara work.
“Tried very hard in that, eventually it became clear that he needed some fresh energy. Went about, did his homework, made it happen, and now he’s back enjoying himself.
“Playing a little bit different tennis, different mindset than what we saw last year. I mean, he joked the other day I’ve got more Grand Slam wins already than I did last year.
“So, you’ve got to make light of the situation, but he’s here to win also, and we’ll see how far he can go. One of the best hard-court players we’ve seen in the last six years.”
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Medvedev has knocked Jesper De Jong and Quentin Halys out of the Australian Open, and now meets Fabian Marozsan in the third round.
And he certainly has a more favorable draw than his ATP rivals, with third seed Alexander Zverev representing a potential quarterfinal opponent.
After that, however, Carlos Alcaraz could await him in the semifinal, followed by Jannik Sinner in the final, which is a thought that may just alter Medvedev’s relaxed nature somewhat.
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