Daniil Medvedev wishes he could have Andrey Rublev's forehand, reveals the 3 things he likes most about Russia
Daniil Medvedev recently spoke to atpcup.com ahead of his 2022 ATP Cup campaign, where he expressed his admiration for Andrey Rublev's forehand. During the interview, Medvedev also revealed three things he likes most about his country. These were -- food, Moscow, and the nightlife.
The US Open champion is currently in Sydney along with his Russian teammates to compete in the 2022 ATP Cup. They began their campaign with a win over France on Sunday, despite Medvedev losing his singles match against Ugo Humbert.
Andrey Rublev is usually the player who bails Russia out whenever Daniil Medvedev is missing in action or when he loses. But on this occasion, it was Roman Safiullin who won both his singles and doubles matches.
However, when asked if he could have one shot of any Russian player, Medvedev went with Rublev's forehand. The World No. 2 explained that altering his forehand would change his style of play, but his choice was based on the sheer power of the shot.
"It is difficult because I like my game! I want to say Andrey’s forehand, but then I would have to change my game completely and I am not sure that is good," Daniil Medvedev said. "But I would say Andrey’s forehand because it is so huge."
During the interview, Daniil Medvedev was also asked to name the three things he likes about Russia. The 25-year-old picked the food available in Russia but made it clear that he was not talking about the cuisine.
Medvedev also expressed his love for his hometown Moscow and the overall nightlife in his country.
"That is dangerous because I can’t say everything," Medvedev said. "I really like the level of Russian food, but I am not talking about Russian cuisine itself, but about the food in general, I find it a really high level. Secondly, I really like Moscow; I am from there and really like the city. I enjoy coming back as much as I can if it doesn’t disrupt my tennis. Let’s go with the nightlife for the third one."
"Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko, and a little bit Mikhail Youzhny were the three biggest names I enjoyed watching" - Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev was also asked to name some former Russian pros who inspired him during his formative years. Medvedev began by pointing out that he hadn't seen two-time Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov play because he was too young when Kafelnikov was at his peak.
However, the World No. 2 said that Marat Safin, Nikolay Davydenko, and to an extent, Mikhail Youzhny inspired him during his time as a junior.
"Unfortunately I didn’t see [Yevgeny] Kafelnikov play, I was too young and not that interested in tennis yet," Daniil Medvedev said. "I grew up watching mostly Marat [Safin] and Nikolay Davydenko and a little bit [Mikhail] Youzhny when I started playing juniors. They were the three biggest names I enjoyed watching and I enjoyed cheering for them in front of my TV."