World No. 10, Daniil Medvedev, shared his perspective on the advancements and evolution within men`s professional tennis.
– Over the past, say, 25 years, one of the most significant developments in men`s tennis seems to be the ability of players to retrieve balls far beyond the baseline, involving extreme stretches near the court`s edge. How crucial is maintaining shot quality even when fully extended? And do you feel the line between defense and offense has blurred, given the sense that virtually anyone can attack from anywhere on the court now?
– Yes, I believe there`s been a lot of progress in physical training, along with developments in tennis rackets and balls. Almost everyone is now capable of defending effectively. Have you seen Reilly Opelka? He might not run as fast as me or Carlos [Alcaraz], but he still defends very well. He can run, play long rallies, and all that. Just ten years ago, guys my height simply weren`t able to play long rallies at all. Their game was primarily focused on serve-and-volley or big serves and first-strike tennis. So, I think the game is just evolving. It`s similar to football (soccer). If you watch a game from the 80s, you see many beautiful goals, but in terms of defense, you notice, `Wow, they`re not moving much at all.` Whereas now, everyone is running back and forth for the entire 90 minutes. The intensity has increased dramatically. This trend is visible in every sport. So, yes, many players can now defend well and attack from various court positions, which makes the game much more physically demanding, and consequently, I think the competition is much more balanced now.
– Have you seen the video of [basketball player] Victor Wembanyama playing football?
– Yes, I`ve seen it, and it`s quite funny. Thoughts like, `If he were a professional, how would anyone possibly defend against him on corners?` came to mind. It would be amusing to witness that.
