Daniil Medvedev reveals why Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have an ‘extra edge’ at the Shanghai Masters
Daniil Medvedev has continued his criticism of the balls at the Shanghai Masters this year, with the World No.5 claiming that they ‘favour’ the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Medvedev, who is one of only two former singles champions competing at the Shanghai Masters this year alongside Novak Djokovic, progressed to the fourth round after fighting back to beat 29th seed Matteo Arnaldi, 5-7 6-4 6-4.
When reflecting on the match, Medvedev spoke about the fluctuating nature of the tennis scoring system, “It was a very tough match, a very close one. I actually felt like that’s where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn’t manage to [win] it, played a bad game at the end of the set.
“In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that’s why tennis is crazy. You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days.”
Despite progressing through the rounds in Shanghai, Medvedev has been very vocal about the balls in Shanghai and has suggested that they are too slow.
Medvedev continued this after beating Arnaldi, with the Russian writing ‘nice balls’ on the television camera and later explained to press why he thinks they favour his rivals Sinner and Alcaraz.
“I think it it basically favours people who can benefit power from dead balls. Some have better quality with this. Some don’t,” explained Medvedev. “Actually the two best players at doing this, they’re already the best players in the world, and I’m sure they would be without the balls.
“But with these balls, they’re the only players who can generate crazy power. It’s Jannik and Carlos. It gives them an extra edge. But I try to fight with what I can. I try to get this power, which I’ve never had since I was young.”
Definitely need to use the Lifeline option here! 😝🤣 https://t.co/verz8XF6ih
— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) October 6, 2024
Medvedev will look to continue to contend with the balls in Shanghai when he takes on either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexandre Muller for a place in the quarter-finals.
Inside the baseline…
Daniil Medvedev has never been one to shy away from his opinions and this situation is no different. If these ball changes just made the matchups different then it would be quite fun, but the big concern is really the way that it can cause an increase in wrist injuries, which is something that have been a big topic of conversation in recent years. It does seem as though there needs to be more regulations on the balls across the season, with more focus on having different speeds of court rather than the balls themselves.
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