Decoding the stats of Daniil Medvedev on hard courts
World number two Daniil Medvedev reached the third round of the 2022 Australian Open on Thursday. He defeated home favorite Nick Kyrgios 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 after two hours and 58 minutes. With this, Medvedev continues his brilliant run on hard courts. The Russian won the US Open in 2021 (also played on this surface). Here, we decode Medvedev's hard-court record.
Why does it matter?
The game of tennis is played on three major surfaces - hard, grass, and clay. Medvedev, who turned professional in 2015, has been a master of hard courts. The Russian clinched his maiden Grand Slam title last year by winning the US Open. He has reached the final of one other major - the Australian Open (2021).
Medvedev is 185-65 on hard courts
Medvedev is 185-65 on hard courts. As many as 12 of his total 13 singles titles have come on this surface (2018: Tokyo, Winston-Salem, Sydney. 2019: Shanghai Masters, St Petersburg, Cincinnati Masters, Sofia. 2020: ATP Finals, Paris Masters. 2021: US Open, Canada Masters, Marseille).
Medvedev is 15-1 at both Slams since 2021
Medvedev finished as the runner-up of Australian Open in 2021. He lost the final to world number one Novak Djokovic. Medvedev had reached his maiden final at his Slam. The Russian avenged this loss by winning the US Open later in the year. He denied Djokovic a historic calendar-year Grand Slam. Medvedev is 15-1 in both Slams since the start of 2021.
Medvedev achieved this feat at US Open
Medvedev dropped only one set en route to his US Open title. He earned straight-set victories against Richard Gasquet, Dominik Koepfer, Pablo Andujar, Daniel Evans, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Djokovic. The Russian beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. Medvedev became the second man since Ivan Lendl (1987) to lose just one set en route to the title in New York.
Medvedev's hard-court record in 2021: 54-9
Medvedev finished 2021 as the ATP Tour leader in terms of match-wins (54-9) on hard courts. The Russian remained the only player to have registered over 50 wins on this surface. He had 11 more wins than second-placed Alexander Zverev (43-10).
A look at other records of Medvedev (hard courts)
In 2020, Medvedev won his maiden ATP Finals title, a prestigious year-end championship (hard court). He claimed straight-set wins against Zverev, Djokovic, and Diego Schwartzman to reach the semi-finals. The Russian overcame Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to become the undefeated champion. Medvedev became the first player to defeat the Top 3 in the ATP Finals and anywhere on the ATP Tour since 2007.
