"We saw the real Daniil Medvedev in Rotterdam" - Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes the Russian is back on the rise in 2023
Renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou said that he witnessed "the real Daniil Medvedev" in action en route to his title win at the 2023 Rotterdam Open and believes the Russian is on the path to ascendancy this season.
Mouratoglou, who worked with Serena Williams for close to a decade, also coached Simona Halep and is now is helping Holger Rune hone his skills.
Medvedev, who has trained at the Patrick Mourataglou Academy, has often been lauded by the Frenchman. Morataglou's latest praise for the 27-year-old comes in light of his emphatic win at Rotterdam, which followed a turbulent 2022 season.
"I think during the Rotterdam tournament, that was the best of Daniil as we can expect in a 500," Mouratoglou said on social media. "We never felt he was losing his way, which we saw several times in the past. Daniil is used to winning trophies. So, when he stays too long without winning trophies, it's painful and it affects his confidence a lot."
Medvedev defeated defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals before a semifinal win over Grigor Dimitrov set up a title clash against Jannik Sinner. The Italian took the first set but Medvedev was too good on the day, winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Mouratoglou labeled Medvedev's 2021 US Open win a "masterpiece," while also cautioning that performances like the one in New York do not come too often.
"We saw the real Daniil (in Rotterdam). Can he play better? Probably. We've seen him play better," Mouratoglou said. "The final of the 2021 US Open against Novak Djokovic was probably his masterpiece but we cannot expect from these guys to play those kinds of matches everyday."
"He found himself back during the tournament, which is so important for him and that's why he was so happy about winning it."
"I mean to be honest, I practice hard all the time" - Daniil Medvedev after Rotterdam win
Following a disappointing 2022 season, Daniil Medvedev was both relieved and ecstatic after his win at Rotterdam. The Moscow-born player, who now resides in Monte-Carlo, summed up his sentiments following his early-season triumph.
"I mean to be honest, I practice hard all the time, so when it doesn't work, you're like, f**k, what am I doing wrong?" Daniil Medvedev stated in a video clip.
After losing to Rafael Nadal in an epic 2022 Australian Open final, Medvedev was once again bettered by the Spaniard during the semifinals of the Mexican Open.
A hernia surgery after disappointing performances at Indian Wells and Miami hampered his progress during the 2022 season, as did the ban on Russian players which was imposed during Wimbledon.
Daniil Medvedev is officially the No. 1 seed at the US Open 2022.
He is the first player outside the Big 4 in 18 years (Roddick AO '04) to be the top seed at a Grand Slam.
Fun fact: Nadal and Djokovic were also the top seeds at slams for the first time at US Open ('08, '11) https://t.co/suHGEL7ONq
Daniil Medvedev failed to defend his 2021 US Open title after losing to Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, thus losing his World No. 1 ranking for a second time during the season.
After a third-round loss at the Australian Open, the win at Rotterdam was just what Daniil Medvedev needed to reignite his 2023 season, which began with a loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Adelaide International.