Tennis News

Brain Game: Djokovic's Antidote to Medvedev's Deep Returning Is…

You can’t regularly serve and volley in today’s game.

The statement above is worth reading again because it needs to be the last time you ever see it in print. It’s a myth. The death of serve and volley in our sport is pure misconception, and Novak Djokovic may as well have put the final nail in the coffin of this delusional fallacy once and for all in the Rolex Paris Masters final on Sunday.

World No. 1, Djokovic, defeated No. 2, Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes minutes on the back of winning 19 of 22 serve and volley points. Djokovic won a stunning 86 per cent of his serve and volley points to completely throw a monkey wrench into the Russian’s monotonous baseline strategy of sticking the Serb in the backhand cage deep in the Ad court.

For the record, Djokovic served and volleyed 22 times – including once a second serve which he won – and also attempted another 17 serve and volley points that were a fault.

He wanted to serve and volley 39 times in a Masters 1000 final against the second-best player in the world. Nothing dead about that strategy.

Djokovic initially served and volleyed on the third point of the match, trailing 0/30 in the opening game. He lost that point and was broken soon after. He did win five of seven serve and volley points in the opening set but lost the set 6-4. The game plan was forming. The execution was improving. The mindset was patient.

Instead of abandoning the aggressive serve-and-volley play to focus on trying to dismantle Medvedev in baseline exchanges, Djokovic doubled down on serve and volley in set two, winning all 12 serve and volley points played. It’s worth noting that he also hit five faults that he wanted to serve and volley on in set two as well. Djokovic won two of three serve and volley points in set three as Medvedev unravelled early in the point. The constant forward pressure had finally paid off.

The net was Djokovic’s safe haven in the Paris final.

Net Points Played

• Djokovic = won 75% (27/36)
• Medvedev = won 69% (9/13)

Djokovic came to the net almost three times as often as Medvedev as he rocked the Russian in the critical 0-4 shot rally length.

Rally Length Won

• 0-4 Shots = Djokovic +19 (Djokovic 54 / Medvedev 35)
• 5-8 Shots = Djokovic +1 (Djokovic 23 / Medvedev 22)
• 9+ Shots = Djokovic -4 (Djokovic 17 / Medvedev 21)

Djokovic ended up +19 (54 won / 35 lost) in the short rallies up to four shots. This is where serve and volley reigned supreme. A key component of the Serb’s instant forays to the net was to avoid hitting his first volley deep, where Medvedev would enjoy another crack at a passing shot. Instead, Djokovic’s first volley was cleverly hit short in the court with angle, which was ideal considering Medvedev stands very deep in the court to return serve.

Our sport has recently entered into an era where players such as Medvedev are taking up extremely deep return positions. Their goal is to let the serve slow down to commit fewer return errors, while also allowing them to swing as hard as possible, making the return behave much more like a regular groundstroke than a blocking, abbreviated stroke. Djokovic showed time and time again in the final that serve and volley is the perfect antidote for that tactic.

Once rallies began in the Paris final, Medvedev attempted a copy/paste of the recent US Open final, which he won against Djokovic by overdosing on backhand-to-backhand exchanges. Djokovic hit 188 backhand groundstrokes in the Paris final and only 155 groundstroke forehands.

Medvedev was on course for a rinse and repeat of New York. Serve and volley came to the rescue for Djokovic.

Djokovic committed 12 backhand groundstroke errors and only hit one backhand groundstroke winner for the match. If he didn’t have serve and volley to constantly stay on the front foot and keep the points short, he would have had no way to short-circuit Medvedev’s incessant Ad court exchanges.

The Serb’s goose would surely be cooked in the absence of serve and volley.

Serve and volley gets little respect in today’s game. We gave up on it long ago, but it never gave up on us, constantly delivering strong win percentages. The No. 1 player in the world took it off life support in the Paris final and gave this “old school” pattern of play the love it thoroughly deserves. If anyone tells you that serve and volley doesn’t work, send them a link to Sunday’s final.

Welcome back, old friend.

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Fucsovics, Paul Win Stockholm Openers

Seventh-seeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics swept past Adrian Mannarino of France on Sunday at the Stockholm Open. Fucsovics won eight straight games from 4-4 in the first set to win 6-4, 6-0 in 72 minutes. The World No. 40 will play Australia’s Jordan Thompson or Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the second round.

Elsewhere, American Tommy Paul knocked out Swedish wild card and ATP Tour main draw debutant Leo Borg, the son of 1980 titlist Bjorn Borg, 6-4, 6-2 in 67 minutes. Paul will next face fifth-seeded compatriot Taylor Fritz or lucky loser Egor Gerasimov of Belarus.

Denis Istomin, Pavel Kotov, Viktor Durasovic and Andrea Vavassori all came through qualifying for a place in the main draw. Durasovic will play former World No. 1 Andy Murray in the first round.

Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov will also compete at the ATP 250 indoor tournament.

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Emma Raducanu confident of having new coach in place for 2022

Emma Raducanu says she will have a new coach in place for January’s Australian Open.

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Djokovic Extends 'Big Titles' Lead With Record-Breaking Paris Win

Novak Djokovic won a record-breaking 37th ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters, extending his lead in the ‘Big Titles’ race over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The World No. 1 now has 62 ‘Big Titles’, pushing him further ahead of Nadal (57) and Federer (54). A ‘Big Title’ is a trophy at a Grand Slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament or an Olympic singles gold medal. Djokovic surged ahead of Nadal, who has 36 Masters 1000 trophies.

The 34-year-old suffered a crushing defeat in the US Open final against Daniil Medvedev, who ended his pursuit of the Grand Slam at the final hurdle. But Djokovic got his revenge on Sunday 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in front of a raucous crowd in Paris-Bercy.

Djokovic will now turn his attention to the Nitto ATP Finals, to be played from 14-21 November at the Pala Alpitour in Turin. The Serbian will have a chance to increase his ‘Big Titles’ lead even further there, where Nadal and Federer will not be competing. Djokovic could tie Federer’s record for most victories at the season finale (6).

The World No. 1 has the best ‘Big Titles’ win-rate at one title won per 3.3 events played (62/202), while Nadal has claimed a ‘Big Title’ for every 3.5 tournaments played at this level (57/197). Only two other players have converted more than once per five events: Roger Federer (4.4, 54/240) and Pete Sampras (4.9, 30/147).

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

^ Includes Olympic Games gold medals and tournament participations
* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990

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Wiki That! Medvedev Says Djokovic Is 'Amazing'

Daniil Medvedev was full of praise for Novak Djokovic on Sunday, believing that the Serbian superstar is gaining more respect for his record-breaking career.

“I have the feeling that people [are] starting more and more to… respect what he has done in tennis more and more, because he continues to beat the records,” said Medvedev, after he lost to Djokovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the Rolex Paris Masters final.

“Only this year he beat the records for being No. 1 for most weeks, 310 it was, and now it’s much more [345]. He got to 20 [Grand] Slams [and] almost [completed] a calendar Slam.

“There are going to be new people coming to tennis [in the future] who are just going to read in Wikipedia, or whatever, what were the results, who was the World No. 1 for most weeks, for most times in the end, and they are going to see Novak everywhere. That’s when people are going to start to understand, ‘Okay, that’s amazing what he has done.’”

Medvedev has also enjoyed a strong season, which includes the US Open (d. Djokovic) title, and having seen Djokovic embrace his children after the final in south-west Paris, the Russian star also praised his wife, Daria, who watched courtside.

“She helps me a lot,” said Medvedev. “She knows I support her in many ways. So we enjoy being with each other, we enjoy living with each other, we love each other, and that helps me on the tennis court. It’s as easy as that. She will not teach me to play forehand or backhand, but she’s going to give me some mental strength and mental stability to be a better tennis player.”

When asked what it would have meant if he’d beaten Djokovic for a second time in a row, Medvedev was quick to admit, “It’s impossible to have any upper hand psychologically speaking on him.

“But this could be the case for me as well. If we take for instance the last weeks, I lost against Grigor [Dimitrov], [Andrey] Rublev and Novak. So the next time that I will play these three opponents this question shouldn’t be raised. ‘Will Daniil be affected psychologically?’ No. 

“When I played Novak, I knew that he would try to take his revenge. What was at stake was not the same. Of course, I’m not talking about the prize money here. I could feel he really wanted to win no matter what, and this is what competition is all about.”

The 25-year-old, who had trained with Djokovic at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Nice prior to the Rolex Paris Masters, will next compete in Turin at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he is the defending champion. The prestigious season finale, which features Djokovic, Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Hubert Hurkacz, takes place at the Pala Alpitour from 14-21 November.

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Paris Masters: Novak Djokovic wins a record sixth title

World number one Novak Djokovic completes a terrific week by setting two more records in winning the Paris Masters on Sunday.

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Djokovic, Medvedev Into Paris Final Decider

Five-time former champion Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev are in a deciding set on Sunday in the Rolex Paris Masters final. World No. 1 Djokovic and No. 2-ranked Medvedev are level at 4-6, 6-3 in their third ATP Head2Head meeting of the year.

Djokovic is attempting to capture a record-breaking 37th ATP Masters 1000 title, while Medvedev is hoping to retain the indoor tournament crown ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin from 14-21 November.

It’s the first Paris final to feature the top two players in the FedEx ATP Rankings since Stefan Edberg played Boris Becker in the 1990 final.

In a hard-hitting and physical encounter, Djokovic struggled initially committing six unforced errors in the first two games, but settled and won the next three games. Medvedev’s consistently, which had made him a contender for year-end No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings this season, was in evidence with his athleticism around the court. The Russian chased down a drop shot to break for a 4-3 advantage and later closed out the first set, before Djokovic gained the momentum.

In striking his backhand down the line, the World No. 1 avoided the backhand-to-backhand exchanges of the US Open final, which Medvedev won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. After a series of brutal rallies in the fourth game of the second set, the Serbian grew in confidence and continued to mix up his game. At 5-3, Djokovic saved three break points with forays to the net and completed a 16-point game with an ace to take their 10th ATP Head2Head meeting match to a decider.

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Puetz/Venus Clinch Paris Doubles Crown

Tim Puetz and Michael Venus captured the Rolex Paris Masters doubles title on Sunday. The German-Kiwi team completed a high-quality 6-3, 6-7(4), 11-9 victory over third-seeded Frenchmen and 2019 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in one hour and 52 minutes.

Puetz and Venus first joined forces in June and captured their first ATP Tour crown at the Hamburg European Open (d. Krawietz-Tecau) in June. In the French capital this week, the duo also beat Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, and Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

“We knew we would need to play our best tennis,” said Venus. “It was an unbelievable atmosphere today and it made the final very special.”

Great returning and high energy helped Puetz and Venus to a 3-0 advantage in only eight minutes. Herbert got out of trouble after striking two double faults at 1-4 and Puetz later closed out the first set, which lasted 30 minutes, with three consecutive smashes.

Herbert and Mahut both came through deciding point service holds early in the second set, before the Frenchmen started to apply pressure and ignited the crowd’s support. Puetz and Venus held firm to save deciding points at 2-3 and 3-4, but Herbert and Mahut stepped up with the set within their sights. Yet at 5-6, Puetz recovered four set points with excellent serving to reach a tie-break.

Herbert flicked a backhand return winner down the line for 6/4 in the tie-break and a low Mahut return proved too good for Venus to get back cleanly. In the Match tie-break, Herbert and Mahut rushed Puetz and Venus into errors for a 5-2 advantage, but the German-Kiwi pair hit their spots and managed to close out a tense and memorable encounter for their 15th match win of 2021.

Herbert and Mahut, who are 30-11 on the season, will now turn their attention to a sixth participation at the Nitto ATP Finals. This year, the Pala Alpitour in Turin will host the season final for the first time from 14-21 November, after an 11-year stint in London.

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Korda, Nakashima Among #NextGenATP Stars Hard At Work In Milan

The time is almost here. The stars of the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals have started to arrive in Milan, where they are working hard at the Allianz Cloud in preparation for the 21-and-under season finale.

Americans Brandon Nakashima and Sebastian Korda as well as Argentines Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez were on site Saturday practising before the start of the event, which will be played from 9-13 November. All four players are making their tournament debut.

Nakashima has enjoyed a breakthrough 2021 season by rising from No. 170 in the FedEx ATP Rankings to his current career-high No. 65. The 20-year-old became the youngest American since Andy Roddick in 2001-02 to reach multiple tour-level finals when he enjoyed runs to the championship match in Los Cabos and Atlanta.

Korda arrives in Milan in form, having defeated Aslan Karatsev and Marin Cilic en route to the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters. The 21-year-old has enjoyed success in Italy, where he captured his maiden tour-level title in Parma in May.

Argentine pair Baez and Cerundolo are the first South Americans to qualify in the tournament’s history. Umag champion Carlos Alcaraz, Italian Lorenzo Musetti, Denmark’s Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune and Frenchman Hugo Gaston round out the field.

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Preview: Why Djokovic Must Adapt To Beat Medvedev In Paris Final

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev are poised for a blockbuster meeting Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the World’s No. 1 and No. 2 players clash in the final for just the second time in tournament history.

“Let’s hope for the sake of the fans and everyone involved we can have a thrilling match,” Djokovic said. “I look forward to that challenge.”

Having clinched the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking for a record seventh time on Saturday, Djokovic turns his attention to capturing a sixth title in Bercy and breaking his tie with Rafael Nadal for most Masters 1000 titles (36). Avenging this year’s US Open loss to the Russian would be icing on the cake.

Most ATP Masters 1000 Titles

Defending champion Medvedev has the chance to do what no other player has achieved against Djokovic. Should he win and level their ATP Head2Head series at 5-5, the 25-year-old would become the first of 30 players who have played 10 or more matches against Djokovic to achieve a 50 per cent winning record against the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

Medvedev indicated that he will look to rinse and repeat his winning backhand-to-backhand battle from the US Open. The big question is how Djokovic will counter.

“Of course winning the US Open would give me maybe some tactical things I want to try to repeat or use against Novak,” Medvedev said. “At the same time, we all know who Novak is. If he would not adapt to circumstances, he would not be where he is now. So he’s definitely going to try to change something.”

no1 flight mode ON ?

?: @corinnedubreuil pic.twitter.com/I9PbYGWAHQ

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 6, 2021

At Flushing Meadows, Medvedev was happy to settle into extended crosscourt backhand exchanges with the Serb. Djokovic found it difficult to attack the Russian’s flat, skidding backhand and even more difficult to run around the stroke. Djokovic took 57 percent of his groundstrokes on his backhand wing and hit just one forehand winner from the Ad court.

Djokovic tallied just three forehand winners for the match to Medvedev’s 11. How successfully he upgrades from a backhand to a forehand on Sunday could prove telling in the outcome.

He’s made history once again ?@DjokerNole clinches year-end No. 1 in the @FedEx ATP Rankings for a record-breaking seventh time! ? pic.twitter.com/HaXhuVicoE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 6, 2021

“Last time we played, he overplayed me,” Djokovic said. “I overplayed him in the finals of the Australian Open. It was quite straightforward matches, both of them. Hopefully I’ll be able to turn the tables around this time, learning from that experience in New York.

“I saw him play a little bit today against Zverev. He’s been playing fantastic tennis… He’s not missing much and serving big. It seems like he’s finding the groove.”

Djokovic, who dropped a set in his opening match to Marton Fucsovics and needed a third-set tie-break to beat Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals, has failed in just one of the past 10 seasons (2017) to win at least one Masters 1000 title. But today is his last chance to net his first of 2021.

Medvedev, who rallied from a set down in the third round to beat Sebastian Korda, is looking to close out 2021 in style by successfully defending titles in Paris and at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Since the start of the Rolex Paris Masters in 2020, Medvedev is 64-11 overall, 19-1 indoors and 14-3 against Top 10 competition. Of the 82 players to face Djokovic more than once as World No. 1, he is the only player with a winning record (4-2).

But the Russian is guarded when thinking that his US Open victory gives him an edge going into the final. “Against some players you feel like maybe you won a few months ago and you can gain confidence from this,” he said. “Against Novak you know that actually he is going to want to beat you even more when you beat him.”

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