TECH Talk: How Daniil Medvedev is "getting stronger" on Wimbledon grass

FLASHBACK: Daniil Medvedev outfoxed Novak Djokovic in epic Dubai point.

World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev is known for three things: his video game skills, his lanky height, and his love of hard courts—but the latter is not in season at the moment.

“I am getting stronger on grass and I’m very happy about that because grass used to be my favorite surface,” the 2021 US Open champion said this week.

Things were looking questionable for the self-described "hard-court specialist" ahead of his first All England Club campaign in two years; early exits at his warm-up events had the former No. 1 feeling more comfortable on clay than grass—a bold statement given his noted disdain for the dirt.

Still, he showed marked improvements in his delayed first round against British wild card Arthur Fery, and has long thrived on quicker surfaces, so how is the top-ranking Russian improving on grass?

To start, we’re going to look at things from a different angle with Medvedev, himself a master of non-traditional angles.

Unlike other players, who look for opportunities to employ all-out offense with the forehand like Taylor Fritz, or relentlessly change pace like Ons Jabeur, there remains a method to Medvedev's madness. Channeling his unorthodox technique through a hyper-analytic lens, he manipulates points rather than constructs them, and makes use of whichever tool in his arsenal is most appropriate.

A quick hard court magnifies that style to its nigh-unbeatable best, taking time away from opponents while adding extra zip to Medvedev's own shots. Slower courts do equal and opposite damage to his game, but patience has proven a virtue this spring, allowing him to reach the BNP Paribas Open final and win the Internazionali BNL d'Italia—leaving grass his final frontier.

On paper, it seems like a no brainer: another quick court? What more could Medvedev ask for?

But grass does not favor the simple, it favors the bold, the outright aggressor. It becomes a situation of diminishing returns for Medvedev, who is suddenly at the mercy of those with bigger serves and heavier groundstrokes, giving him less time to identify an opponent's weakness as he's too busy fighting like hell to make sure his own shots aren't sitting up for a winner.

I like the lawn. I have a lot of potential there and I am continuously improving. Daniil Medvedev

The Lesson

Still, the fundamentals of what makes Medvedev successful are possible to employ on grass. Instead, they require a different kind of patience than what a slower court requires from him. He doesn’t need to try to match an opponent's grass-enhanced power and go for low margin shots of his own, nor does he need to go too big on the serve.

No, Medvedev on grass is a lesson in trusting in the tools you've brought, and employing the necessary patience to find your openings and manipulate the point back in your favor: extend rallies, neutralize the heavy ball, and make use of his all-court game with approaches to net.

For recreation players, the lesson is clear: trust yourself and the strengths in your pocket to get the job done when it comes time. Keep it simple, trust your gut, and watch your game score go up.