The ATP Masters Finals in Turin did not start in the best way for Daniil Medvedev. After conceding a first defeat, this Sunday, November 10, against the American Taylor Fritz in two sets (6-4, 6-2), the Russian made headlines for his behavior. Signs of annoyance, broken rackets…
But what we will remember about his mood and his words after the match will undoubtedly be his complaints about tennis balls, once again. The same song for almost two years. And even if the world number 4 has not been the only one to question the question recently, at each tournament, he adds his two cents as if his poor performances were solely due to that.
“Every training session and every match is complicated”
“Some players believe that during Covid, manufacturers had difficulty producing the balls because they were mainly produced in China, he explained recently in an interview with Russian journalist Sofya Tartakova. So they started looking for alternatives. During Covid, balls became cheaper and worse (in particular a change of rubber). There is a conspiracy theory that after the pandemic, manufacturers said to themselves: why improve the bullets, make them more expensive, since they are enough? »
Performances, but also injuries are singled out. “With the balls we play with (which he considers much too slow and quickly similar to “ stuffed animals “), everyone can hold the exchangehe said on Sunday afternoon after his defeat in Turin. It’s been like this for two or three years. Every training session is complicated, every match is complicated. »
The Muscovite claims his results are declining (he has not won a tournament since May 2023 in Rome) because of the quality of the tennis balls. Material that he considers unsuitable at this level, beneficial for certain players and even dangerous for their health.
READ ALSO. ATP Finals. A Masters tournament that poorly rewards outsiders
The Russian will have to quickly get back into the competition this Tuesday against Alex De Minaur if he wants to hope to reach the semi-finals. Even if the balls will be exactly the same…
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