Marat Safin believes Daniil Medvedev can ascend to the top of the ATP Rankings

What's the story?

Former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion, Marat Safin, recently opened up about Daniil Medvedev and what the future holds for the young Russian. Safin reserved plenty of praise for Medvedev, stating that he is evidence that Russian tennis is slowly returning to its glory days.

In case you didn't know...

Medvedev was one of the standout players in 2019. The NextGen star won several big titles over the course of the season, including 2 Masters 1000 crowns, and also broke into the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings. He also came ever so close to winning his first-ever Grand Slam, but fell to Rafael Nadal in a marathon US Open final.

The heart of the matter

Safin, speaking to the Moscow press ahead of Russia's ATP Cup campaign, said:

“Russia is coming back strong and I’m happy to be part of this group. Hopefully they will do a great job during the pre-season with their coaches and then maybe I can be useful for them during the ATP Cup and yeah, looking forward to my new job."

When asked about Medvedev's stunning rise the past couple of years and what the future holds for the young Russian, Safin said:

“I believe he (Medvedev) can be number one in the world."

Safin went on to claim that Medvedev has an all-around game and needs to work on tiny aspects of his play in order to keep improving.

Safin is bang-on in his assessment of Medvedev's potential. The 23-year-old was the most successful NextGen player this past season, beating off competition from Stefanos Tsitsipas, who took home the ATP World Tour Finals crown.

Medvedev reached 6 consecutive finals after Wimbledon, proving that he is one of the chief threats to the Big 3's reign.

What's next?

Medvedev will be keen to build on his 2019 season with another successful campaign in 2020. He will be hoping to continue improving his game and maybe even bag a Slam title next year.