ATP Cup 2020: John Isner responds to Daniil Medvedev's stunning victory

What's the story?

Daniil Medvedev delivered a stunning victory against America's, John Isner, in Russia's tie against the USA in the ATP Cup. After defeating Isner, 6-3, 6-1, the American praised the young Russian for his ruthless display on the court.

In case you didn't know

The World's best players (apart from Roger Federer) are all currently playing in the inaugural ATP Cup at the moment in an international team tournament not dissimilar to the Davis Cup.

The heart of the matter

"I got my ass kicked out there," Isner bluntly remarked "I wasn't even close. Generally, with my game, I can keep matches close and make it depend on a few points here or there, but that wasn't the case against Daniil."

The American then conceded, "I didn't serve as well as I needed to, and that was trouble once that was the case. I've been terrible Down Under for the last three, four years; that trend is certainly continuing right now; I play my best in the United States."

Whilst this result was bad for John Isner it was very good for Medvedev which is in turn good for tennis. Along with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev was the standout player of 2019 for the NextGen and he looks as though he will continue this form into 2020.

Medvedev was meant to play at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships last month but withdrew due to injury, so it is good to see him playing so well at the start of 2020. Whilst John Isner isn't the best player in the world, he does possess one of the greatest serves.

The way Medvedev dealt with the 6ft10 American though was inspiring and is a promising sign, indeed. If he wants to beat the top players, especially the Big 3, he should be able to break their serves consistently. His serving is already solid, therefore, to see his return game improve is an ominous sign for the rest of the players on the tour.

With the NextGen on the march, it will be interesting to see if Medvedev can go one better than his finalist appearance at the US Open 2019 in the upcoming season.