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Daniil Medvedev has called out some of the balls used at ATP tournaments, lamenting that their quality is so bad at times that he worries he might develop shoulder pain for the rest of his life.
Medvedev, who entered this year's Erste Bank Open as the defending champion, advanced to the second round of the tournament with a straight-set victory over Frenchman Arthur Fils. The contest, which lasted one hour and 75 minutes on Wednesday, October 25, at the Wiener Stadthalle, ended 6-4, 6-2 in the Russian's favor.
After falling behind 2-3 in the opening set, the World No. 3 staged a remarkable comeback and ultimately won the match. He lost just three of his 31 first-service points and fired sixteen winners while producing only three unforced errors.
During his post-match press conference after the win over Fils in Vienna, Daniil Medvedev obliged the reporters with their questions.
When asked about the type of balls being used in the Vienna Open, Medvedev revealed his belief that they are the same balls used usually by the ATP, which swell a lot with use. He further added that nearly half of the players on the tour have complained about the same.
“Yup. I mean, it's the usual ATPs, if I'm not mistaken. They get very big, they swell a lot and, once again, I would never talk about it, if I were the only one. I would never talk about it too much, why, what would be the meaning?"
"If I were the only one talking about this it would be stupid. But when we are in the locker room everyone thinks the same thing. When I say everyone, maybe not 100%, but 50% yes. And there are many,” he stated.
Daniil Medvedev, elaborating on the matter, said that it was problematic even during the training and that it was causing him pain in his shoulder, elbow, and wrist. He was optimistic about his ability to deal with the ball this year, given his performance, but did not want to deal with shoulder problems for the rest of his life.
“Even during training, you hit the ball 10 times and you have the feeling that every time it becomes bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger and bigger ... and for the shoulder, the elbow and wrist is not good at all and, in general, to play."
"In any case, this year I am playing well and I think I can play well with these balls. But I don't want to feel shoulder pain for the rest of my life. So, I hope a solution can be found in some way,” Medvedev added.
“He puts pressure on you” - Daniil Medvedev on Grigor Dimitrov ahead of Vienna 2R clash
Top seed Daniil Medvedev will next take on unseeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to secure a spot in the Vienna Open quarterfinals. In the opening round, Grigor Dimitrov won 6-3, 6-4 over Lorenzo Musetti.
Medvedev has the upper hand with a 5-2 lead in their head-to-head, triumphing in their last two face-offs -- at the Rotterdam semifinals this year and the Vienna semifinals in 2022.
In the same press conference, the World No. 3 shared his thoughts on facing Dimitrov, saying:
“The next match will be with Dimitrov, and it's always very complicated with him. He puts pressure on you, varies a lot and has moments when he goes on fire, so it won't be an easy game."
