Medvedev plays “mathematical” tennis and wins thanks to intelligence, sports psychologist says

Well-known sports psychologist Vadim Gushchin, who worked in the Russian national tennis team, told RB Sport that the peculiarity of Daniil Medvedev’s game lies in the combination of his intellect and amazing coordination.

– Do you know at least one tennis player who entered MGIMO, and before that he studied at a physics and mathematics school? I don’t know, says Gushchin. “Those like that just don’t get into our teams. I’m not sure that there are people in other teams who got into MGIMO not as athletes, but because of the totality of their knowledge. Here is Dani.

“Really, it’s unusual.

– At a turning point in Medvedev’s career, his sister married a Frenchman, and he himself ended up in France. This is the very happy occasion, thanks to which we now have a great tennis player. It could work out, as with Lena Rybakina, who did not find sponsors in Russia and plays for Kazakhstan. Danya could leave tennis altogether and go to school, he is one of the most intelligent athletes I know.

– And this is one of the factors of his successful career?

– Yes. He plays “mathematical” tennis. Not like other athletes, but on the intellect, he calculates everything. And his coach is an interesting, original person (Frenchman Gilles Servara. – ed.). In Russia, Medvedev did not find his coach, there were not enough funds, Danya, I say, was on the verge of finishing. And in France, he realized that he could play.

– How is he so thin, frail-looking can withstand the pressures of tennis?

– According to the addition, Danya does not look like a high-level tennis player. Thin yes, there are health problems. But such a constitution allows him to do unique things on the court. Medvedev is able to strike from a position from which no other tennis player can strike. Everyone in the team was surprised: “How? From the position from which he strikes, from the point of view of coordination, it is impossible to break through! And Medvedev doesn’t just hit, he hits. A person “forms” in a way that, it would seem, cannot be formed. Here, you know, there is a classic technique. Dani’s is not classical at all. The combination of intelligence and absolutely amazing coordination, unlike what we see in others, makes him strong on the court, unpredictable for opponents.

Medvedev reached the final at five tournaments in a row. Last week he won the tournament in Miami. Previously, he scored victories at tournaments in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, and lost to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the recent Masters in Indian Wells.

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