Medvedev was positively surprised with the balls used at the Paris Olympics after his opening win.
Daniil Medvedev never ceases to amaze as the Russian tennis star revealed in a pretty funny way that he came to the Paris Olympics without high expectations for singles but that it instantly changed after he got to the court and realized that the balls were lighter than the one used at the French Open.
On Saturday, Medvedev got off to the best possible start to the Olympics after destroying world No. 76 Rinky Hijikata 6-2 6-1 to set up a second-round meeting against Sebastian Ofner.
Right from the start of the match, Medvedev imposed his game and broke Hijikata three times in each set en route to completing a very dominant win.
Following his win, Medvedev didn’t hide his happiness with how things went out there but also admitted that when he arrived at the tournament, he was thinking that he would have a bigger chance of succeeding in men’s doubles with Roman Safiullin and in mixed doubles with Mirra Andreeva, respectively.
And the reasons for that belief were quite simple – the French Open is the Grand Slam where Medvedev has had the least success and he also doesn’t like the “heavy balls” that are usually used there.
“When I was coming here, to be honest, I had higher expectations for doubles and mixed. The draw is smaller, and the singles are strong. And I usually don’t win Roland Garros, to put it mildly,” Medvedev told Sports.ru.
“But the balls here are completely different. Not as heavy. And I played very well here in training. So my expectations were higher. Today was a cool match. Let’s see what happens next.”
Medvedev explains his issue with ‘heavy balls’
Last year, one of the first players to complain about the constant ball changes on the Tour was Medvedev. And that happened after the former world No. 1 suffered “a mysterious” wrist pain during the 2023 Australian Open but couldn’t understand why it was happening. At the time, the Russian said that after speaking with several players, they came to the conclusion that “the heavy balls” were causing shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries.
Now, Medvedev reveals he didn’t like at all the balls used at this past French Open, where he reached the round-of-16 before losing to Alex de Minaur.
“At Roland Garros they are very heavy and do not fly at all. It is easier for those who can accelerate the balls. But this is not my strong point. I feel more comfortable when the ball flies by itself – and I direct it. Like today. That is why there were so many winners,” Medvedev said, via Sports.ru.
“I don’t know who specifically decided on the balls at the Olympics. But the trend over the last five years has been that they are heavier, heavier, heavier and heavier. Everyone’s shoulders and elbows hurt, but the balls are still heavier and heavier. And then, out of nowhere, very light balls. This doesn’t suit everyone, but it suits me.”
Medvedev on teaming up with Andreeva in mixed doubles
When it was confirmed that Medvedev and rising star Andreeva would play in the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics, many tennis fans were excited about seeing the two as a pair since their games are actually similar in some ways as the 17-year-old Russian also tends to play long rallies, tactical tennis and improvise on the court. Also, they bring an interesting personality together since everyone knows how Medvedev can react in certain situations while Andreeva is quickly becoming a fan favorite with her early success but also charisma.
When asked how they ended up being a team, Medvedev joked that Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov withdrawing from the Olympics helped or otherwise he would have to fight with them.
“I’m interested myself (how we do as a team). We haven’t even met yet. She won the tournament yesterday. By the way, I knew right away that I wanted to play mixed at the Olympics. If Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov were here, there would have been a fight between us, ha-ha,” Medvedev explained.
“And when they refused, everything became clear. Mirra and I played at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi – and it was cool. I think it’s a cool story – she’s young, I’m not young anymore, ha-ha. But it could be an interesting mixed pair.”
Medvedev then became serious and revealed how really he and Andreeva became a pair.
“We didn’t even discuss it among ourselves. More with the national team coaches. Igor Kunitsyn asked who I would like to play with. I said it would be cool with Mirra. They probably asked her the same thing later. And I was lucky that she didn’t refuse,” Medvedev added.
Medvedev and Andreeva play against Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in their mixed doubles opener.
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