"His nerves are unsteady" - Russian Tennis Federation president on how injuries and Wimbledon ban ruined Daniil Medvedev's season
Shamil Tarpishchev, the president of the Russian Tennis Federation, discussed what he believed would be Daniil Medvedev's biggest challenge in the Nitto ATP Finals.
The tournament will take place in Turin between November 13 and 20, with Medvedev set to face Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic, and Andrey Rublev in the group stage.
In a conversation with TASS, Tarpishchev stated that psychological preparedness will be a problem for Medvedev. He noted that it was the result of an injury spell, which led to Medvedev being taken out of the game for three months.
"Psychological preparedness will be the main issue for Medvedev because he had too many breaks recently and his nerves are unsteady," he said, adding, "He was taken out of the game for three months by an injury, then he was forced to miss Wimbledon due to the suspension of the Russians."
Tarpishchev said that the nervous system, like muscles, must be kept in a constant tone; without practice, it becomes untrained.
"The nervous system, like muscles, should be kept in constant tone, and without game practice, it becomes untrained. In the At Final Tournament, this will be a problem for Medvedev," Tarpishchev claimed.
He believes that while Medvedev may be physically fresh, he might get tired mentally.
"Physically, it can be fresh, but his nervous system will quickly get tired. The consequence of this will be a lack of patience when playing the ball and, accordingly, unforced mistakes," he opined.
Daniil Medvedev placed in Red Group along with Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev
Daniil Medvedev has been added to the Red Group with two former ATP Finals winners, Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019) and Novak Djokovic (2015). Andrey Rublev is the other player in the group.
Seventh-seeded Djokovic will be eyeing history at the tournament, as the five-time champion will equal Roger Federer's record of six ATP Finals titles if he emerges triumphant in Turin.
Medvedev and Rublev will square off against one another for the sixth time in their careers to open the proceedings in their group. The former has a good record in their head-to-head meetings, winning four times. However, in their most recent meeting at the Cincinnati Masters last year, it was Rublev who registered his maiden win against the former World No. 1.