Daniil Medvedev has been vocal about the quality of balls, which have been used in the ongoing Shanghai Masters. The Russian isn’t happy with the balls and feels they are very slow, which is making it difficult for the players.
Medvedev reckons the talismanic duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have an edge with these balls as they are great power hitters.
The 28-year-old from Moscow wrote ‘Nice Balls’ on the TV camera after his match.
“I think it it basically favours people who can benefit power from dead balls. Some have better quality with this. Some don’t,” explained Medvedev. “Actually the two best players at doing this, they’re already the best players in the world, and I’m sure they would be without the balls.
“But with these balls, they’re the only players who can generate crazy power. It’s Jannik and Carlos. It gives them an extra edge. But I try to fight with what I can. I try to get this power, which I’ve never had since I was young.”
Medvedev registered a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win against Matteo Arnaldi to make it to the round of 16. The 2021 US Open champion admitted he played better in the first set but lost whereas he wasn’t that good in the next two sets but still won.
“It was a very tough match, a very close one. I actually felt like that’s where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn’t manage to [win] it, played a bad game at the end of the set.
“In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that’s why tennis is crazy. You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days.”
Medvedev will take on Stefanos Tsitisipas on Wednesday.
