Wimbledon 2024: Hard-court specialist Medvedev gunning for breakthrough on grass

Daniil Medvedev is aiming for another deep run at Wimbledon next month but the Russian is unlikely to get his hands on the trophy as his grasscourt game lacks the variety to unsettle the best players on the surface, tennis analyst Patrick McEnroe said.

The former World No. 1 and self-proclaimed “hard-court specialist” reached the semifinals of the tournament last year for his best result at the All England Club where he was dispatched in straight sets by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

“I think quarters, semis for him are what I would expect,” McEnroe, a former player and current ESPN broadcaster, told reporters on a call. “He’s a good grasscourt player. In my view, he’s not a great grasscourt player. By the way, there are very few great grasscourt players.”

Those select players are also the top three in the world – No. 1 Jannik Sinner, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, and defending champion Alcaraz, McEnroe said.

What they possess that the likes of Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz lack is the dynamic shotmaking and speed that can keep opponents off balance.

“I think Medvedev doesn’t have enough variety in his game,” McEnroe said. “(Sinner) has added a little more variety – the ability to chip, the ability to come forward, play the dropshot, play with a little more finesse.”

Medvedev, World No. 5, had a hot start to the year, reaching the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals, as well as the semis in Miami, all hardcourt tournaments.

But he has cooled off recently, falling in the fourth round of the French Open and losing on the grass courts at the Halle Open to World No. 33 Zhang Zhizhen in last 16.

“Hard court is still his best surface. I put him as a guy that can win the U.S. Open or Australia,” McEnroe said.

“He’ll be solid, but if you remember last year, he just got absolutely destroyed in that semifinal match,” he said of Medvedev’s 6-3 6-3 6-3 drubbing by Alcaraz.

“I just think for him to go up against one of those two guys, or if Novak were healthy, that’s a match he can’t win on grass if those guys are at their best.”