Step by Step

Is Medvedev slowly working back into his "old form"?

Well, a good opening round for Medvedev against Norrie. He has mentioned the need to "rediscover his game, step-by-step, cause only then can he meet players like Carlos and Jannik again in tournaments". There's a big focus for him to increase the aggressiveness in his own serve games, preferably with a good +1, but if not, within 3 shots. He has a good first serve, so it makes sense for him to play like this... especially as he gets older, he can't afford to get stuck in long games on his serve either. When he returns, it feels like he is trying to be a bit more aggressive while still utilizing his court coverage and retrieval skills. There are dips in his game since it's still not completely natural for him to play like this, but he seems to be settled with the fact that it's a process that needs to be developed. Both he and Norrie were quite shaky at the start, but I found that Medvedev grew into the match as it went on, and his serving, deep returns, and backhand were all really good today. Fokina showed up with a lot of energy after missing Davis Cup due to fatigue, and he absolutely destroyed Carabelli. He was all over the court, overwhelming Carabelli in just about every point, attacking hard from the baseline, at the net; there was no safe zone. Carabelli's lack of power somewhat enabled Fokina to play like this, but I still want to note that I found his energy and groundstrokes really promising...

This should be an interesting match! These two have gone in opposite directions lately, with Medvedev struggling a lot and Fokina having his best year. Fokina has struggled with this matchup in the past, as Medvedev's defensive prowess forced Alejandro to overhit, and once he starts doing that, it can quickly spiral. This is an area where I feel Fokina has gotten a lot better, there are fewer bad performances, his decision making is better. He has the tools to defend very well, so he does not need to rush offensively when he is not in the right position... I find him a player with a huge ceiling. As I'm sure we all know, the biggest issues are the mental part and consistency. While Medvedev is still great defensively, he is not the kind of "wall" he was in his prime, and that's good news for Fokina! I also find ADF's backhand really good at the moment, and he is a skilled returner, two things that are important against Medvedev's strengths (first serve & BH). This should be an interesting match with some dips during the match from each player. Medvedev because he has to implement a new style, Fokina because he struggles to stay consistent with his aggressiveness throughout an entire match...