Ranking per surface would be a big difference for players like Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev, feels Serena Williams' former coach
Patrick Mouratoglou feels that ranking players according to their proficiency on different surfaces could impact players like Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev.
Mouratoglou was Serena Williams' coach for ten years, from 2012 to 2022, and was coaching Danish tennis player Holger Rune till early April this year. He shared a tweet on his official Twitter handle while talking about the men's top ten rankings.
"A ranking per surface would give an interesting view on the real level of players on each of them. Big difference for Kyrgios (clay vs grass) or Medvedev (hard vs clay)," he wrote.
The duo's strongest performances have come on surfaces other than clay. In the 2022 season, Kyrgios has a 24-8 win-loss record on hard courts and a 13-4 win-loss record when playing on grass. He played four matches on clay, out of which he won three and lost one.
While Nick Kyrgios prefers grass and hard courts, Daniil Medvedev has a greater affinity for hard courts. Both share a common dislike for matches played on clay.
Kyrgios has tasted victory in six singles titles but none of them have come on a grass court. However, he has reached semi-finals twice when playing on a grass surface and has reached the 2022 Wimbledon finals, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
A ranking per surface would give an interesting view on the real level of players on each of them. Big difference for Kyrgios (clay vs grass) or Medvedev (hard vs clay). twitter.com/universaltenni…
Daniil Medvedev has decided clay is not for him: Patrick Mouratoglou
Mouratoglou feels Medvedev could move better on clay surfaces. It's difficult for Daniil Medvedev to play at his best when he's rooted to the ground. If you look at his game, it's dependent on being able to move around the court.
The most significant issue for Medvedev when playing on clay is that his power diminishes when playing on the slower surface. His flat groundstrokes don't penetrate as well as top-spin shots and playing on clay courts also gives him less margin for error.
Mouratoglou analyzed Medvedev's performances on clay courts in a video uploaded on his Instagram profile.
"I think that Daniil Medvedev struggles that much on clay for two main reasons," he said. "The first one is mental. He has decided that clay is not for him and he said it a hundred times."
"It's impossible to achieve something big when you think you are not good at it," he added. "And secondly, there are also technical reasons. He doesn't move well on clay. I think he can learn. Of course, for sure, he can learn. But for the moment, he doesn't feel comfortable."
Even though Daniil Medvedev lives in France and trains on clay, he is uncomfortable playing on the surface. The Russian is famously averse to clay, a fact that he is not shy about.
That's not to say Medvedev hasn't been working hard to improve his clay court game. He has been working with his coach Gilles Cervara to tweak his clay court game. In 2019, Medvedev even scored an upset victory at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.
Medvedev's forehand is great on clay but his backhand could be better. As his dominant shot is the backhand, the Russian's game is not as strong when playing on the slower surface.