Rick Macci Analysis: Daniil Medvedev

Legendary coach Rick Macci has been delivering succinct analyses of the games of several leading pros through in depth interviews with Florida Tennis editor Jim Martz. Macci continues in this post with recent US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev. 

He is very unique. I’ve done a few interviews and podcasts, and everybody asks me about his technique because he looks a little gangly and crosses his legs and has helicopter backswings. He’s like a human praying mantis out there. 

But I tell people his point of contact doesn’t deviate, he has great balance. For 6-foot-6 he moves like the wind. He’s Batman, Spiderman, Aquaman, all in one. The guy is one of the best movers for 6-foot-6. He has long tentacles, so he can make shots from awkward positions.

It’s not a beauty contest. It’s not how you look. He’s organized enough on the forehand and backhand, even though he doesn’t have the ATP forehand or backhand like the methodology that Brian Gordon and I put together here at the academy in Boca Raton. But he’s in the neighborhood.

And listen, he’s a brutal competitor. I don’t even think he wants to win, I think he wants to torture you! I think his mind is at a whole other level. He’s not about “I want to win, I want to torture you and run.” And he’ll stay out there all day.

So when you look at his game you’ve got to also look where he plays at. He plays far back. It’s not the best way to play unless you can move like that. You know, that works for him.

Mentally strong, great groundstrokes, stays out there all day, a brutal competitor.

That’s what people don’t understand. With him it’s all under the hood, because when you look on the outside, you might say it looks different. But you know what? He’s steady as a rock, he’s a great competitor.

He’s going to be a contender for every Grand Slam. He’s not going to give this over to Alcaraz or Sinner or Ruud or Korda or the Joker. I mean, this guy’s the real deal and he’s not going anywhere for the next 10 years.

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Interview with Rick Macci by Florida Tennis' Founder and Editor Jim Martz. Photos (from top to bottom): Rob Keating (CC BY 2.0); @ArtSeitz. This article also appears in the September-October 2023 issue of Florida Tennis Magazine. Be sure to subscribe for expanded coverage, exclusive interviews, and in-depth tennis news.